With BC Assessment releasing its 2020 home valuations for British Columbia, nowhere are the changes more pronounced than at the top end of the province’s real estate market.
Nearly all of the top 10 highest-valued properties in the province are in the Lower Mainland, where BC Assessment said valuations for detached homes dropped by as much as 16 per cent.
The new valuations are based on how much a home was assessed at as of July 1, 2019, with the data released on Thursday.
Many of this year’s 10 most valuable properties are the same as in recent years, and despite a haircut in value, they’re all still far outside the reach of the average British Columbian.
Topping out the top 10 list is, once again, Lululemon founder and billionaire Chip Wilson’s home at 3085 Point Grey Rd. in Vancouver.
The property was valued at $64,946,000 for 2020, down 11 per cent from its 2019 value of $73,120,000.
It’s a steep tumble from the 15,694-square-foot property’s peak assessment in 2018 of $78,837,000, but still more than the $63 million the assessor valued the home at in 2016.
Number two on the list, a repeat from 2019, is the 10-bedroom, 25,000-square-foot luxury mansion at 4707 Belmont Ave., which overlooks Spanish Banks.
BC Assessment valued the property at $58,727,000 for 2020, down 10.2 per cent from 2019. It’s also down more than $13 million from the 2017 assessed value of $71,820,000.
B.C.’s third most valuable property remains a privately owned Southern Gulf island called James Island.
The island hosts a 5,000-square-foot principal residence, six guest cottages, private docks, an airstrip, a pool house and a manager’s residence.
BC Assessment valued the island at $56,747,000 for 2020, down just slightly from the $56,757,000 it was assessed at in 2019.
Coming in at number four is 4719 Belmont Ave., next door to the property that took the number two slot.
BC Assessment valued the home at $36,042,000 this year, down 12.5 per cent from last year.
And in the fifth slot is another mansion on the same block as the homes in second and fourth position.
The 2020 valuation has 4743 Belmont Ave. assessed at $32,771,000, a 13 per cent drop from its assessment last year.
In fact, the only property on the top 10 list to grow in value was in the 10th place slot.
35220 Cassiar Ave., Abbotsford didn’t make the list of 10 most valuable properties last year, but according to this year’s assessment is worth $30,022,000.
That’s up from $26,747,210 last year.
The property includes a home of about 6,000 square feet that sits on 160 acres in the Lower Sumas Mountain area.
Changes in the top 10
- 3085 Point Grey Rd., Vancouver – $64,946,000 (Previous: $73,120,000)
- 4707 Belmont Ave., Vancouver – $58,728,000 (Previous: $65,466,000)
- James Island – $56,747,000 (Previous: $56,757,000)
- 4719 Belmont Ave., Vancouver – $36,042,000 (Previous: $41,203,000)
- 4743 Belmont Ave., Vancouver – $32,771,000 (Previous: $37,724,000)
- 2815 Point Grey Rd., Vancouver – $32,558,000 (Previous: $39,961,000)
- 4773 Belmont Ave., Vancouver – $37,720,000 (Previous: $35,880,000)
- 17146 20 Ave., Surrey – $31,524,000 (Previous: $31,600,000)
- 4857 Belmont Ave., Vancouver – $30,208,000 (Previous: $35,621,000)
- 35220 Cassiar Ave., Abbotsford – $30,022,000 (Previous: $26,747,210