The property assessment roll for the years 2020 to 2022, released by the City of Montreal on Wednesday, shows that property values have jumped dramatically in recent months.
On average, the values of properties in the Greater Montreal area have increased by 13.7 per cent, compared to 6.2 per cent in the previous assessment for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The highest increases in property values are in the West Island.
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Dorval Island is at the top with a 27.4 per cent increase, followed by Beaconsfield at 25.9 per cent, Hampstead at 23.1 per cent, and Town of Mount-Royal at 23.1 per cent.
“The market in the West Island has been very hot,” said Maria Tutino, mayor of Baie D’Urfé.
Her city ranked seventh, with a 18.5 per cent increase.
For Montreal-area residential properties alone, the average values increased by 15 per cent, whereas the value for non-residential buildings increased by 9.8 per cent.
In the City of Montreal, the average value increase is 12.7 per cent.
Verdun and the Sud-Ouest borough ranked first and second, with increases of 19.8 per cent and 17.1 per cent, respectively.
Not surprisingly, the popularity of both neighbourhoods has boomed since the last roll was released.
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The city stressed that the increases in property values do not necessarily equate to a high increase in property taxes.
“It is not yet possible to determine or predict the amount of taxes that taxpayers will have to pay. Our budget is still being prepared,” said Benoit Dorais, president of Montreal’s executive committee and Sud-Ouest borough mayor.
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Once the city releases its budget, individual boroughs and de-merged cities will calculate their own taxes.
The City of Montreal promised not to raise taxes more than two per cent on average in the residential sector and 1.5 per cent in the non-residential sector, despite the increase in property value.
“The City will adjust and lower its tax rates so that, in the end, the tax bill of Montrealers will be close to that of recent years,” Dorais said.
West Island mayors, meanwhile, are not making promises yet.
“Now that we have the numbers, we’ll go back, crunch numbers and make sure we adjust them accordingly to make it fair for our citizens,” said Pointe-Claire mayor John Belvedere.
“As far as local taxes are concerned, I can’t guarantee, but I can tell you today that we’re not going to be far away from inflation, perhaps even a little bit below,” said Beaconsfield mayor George Bourelle.
The total value of properties in the Greater Montreal area reached $384.5 billion.