‘Quite a shock’: Lethbridge homeowners see spike in property assessment value

The value of homes in Lethbridge has seen quite the jump as demand continues to outweigh supply in the city’s housing market.

The City of Lethbridge mailed out property assessments on Jan. 5, which shows each home’s market value as of July 2021.

“What we have to do every year is evaluate every property in town, and the market can fluctuate from year-to-year,” said the city manager of assessment and taxation Larry Laverty.

A property’s value is assessed in a variety of ways, including review of permits, complete outside and physical inspections.

The city can also ask property owners to complete self-reporting requests for information and use city aerial photography.

“Then we also look at the market sales, and we determine what the market values are based on the sales,” he said.

According to Laverty, there was a 7.6 per cent increase in value of single family homes from 2020-2021, while a year prior there was barely any change.

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“We’ve seen general increase across the board (and this) is fairly typical in a lot of cities in the province as well,” he explained.

“I can’t disagree, that’s a pretty fair assessment,” said chair of the Lethbridge & District Association of Realtors Brad Cook.

“That was a big push, once interest rates had dropped to a historic low and homes started coming off the market, they just kept going. There was an excitement to buy a home and get into the real estate market.”

While the news is good for those looking to sell, some residents have a slight concern.

“When we saw that the increase was $66,000… that was quite a shock,” west Lethbridge resident Paul Coutts said.

1:58 Rising mortgage rates expect to lead to slight cool down of B.C. housing market

Using the city’s current online calculator, Coutts estimated his property tax will increase by about $700 this year. His family bought the property with the lower tax amount in mind.

“For a family of seven on one income, that makes a big difference.

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“I’m sure we’re not the only ones,” he said. “We have heard rumblings that people are not pleased with what’s happening.”

Coutts said he’s currently working with his realtor and doing digging of his own to gather as much information as possible before contacting the city.

Laverty said it’s a little too soon to tell how much of an increase residents will see in their property taxes.

“The tax rate isn’t set until May of this year, (but) when you’re close to the average increase, generally your taxes don’t change much.”

The city’s property assessment complaint period runs until March 13.