It's safe to say that BC’s property owners got a lot wealthier as of late.
Yesterday in British Columbia (BC), the B.C. Assessment Authority revealed its updated property value data for the notoriously pricey province. If it wasn't obvious from the perpetual bidding wars and scarce supply that characterized the year, the data shows how much BC property values soared in 2021.
For some, this meant hikes of more than a cool $8M.
The well-appointed homes of BC’s one percent rose a pretty penny in 2021, with all but one of the province’s top 10 priciest properties increasing in value. These mansions can be found in Vancouver’s Point Grey and Kitsilano neighbourhoods. Belmont Avenue is a particularly pricey street; more than half of the top 10 are located here.
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s sprawling oceanfront Point Grey home in Kitsilano once again remains the province’s priciest abode. Last year, it was valued at $66,828,000. Wilson saw the value of the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion increase 9% on its 2022 property assessment to $73,147,000. This is the seventh year that his house has topped the list of the province’s most expensive homes.
Chip Wilson's Home via Google Maps
BC’s second-priciest property -- a 28,794 sq. ft. mansion at 4707 Belmont Ave. that overlooks the Spanish Banks -- increased in value 7% from $60,362,000 to $64.6 million. Meanwhile, the province's third most expensive home -- located on James Island and owned by U.S.billionaire Craig McCaw -- actually decreased in value, from $57,980,000 to $54,716,000. The island property, however, is an anomaly. Every other top-priced mansion saw its property values increase.
Of the most expensive mansions, a home at 8030 Alpine Way in Whistler that's currently listed as the province's seventh priciest, saw its property values increase from $26,877,000 to $35,819,000 -- a hike of $8,942,000.
Of course, it’s not just the millionaires and billionaires who have seen their homes spike in value since the onset of the pandemic. Home prices are up across the province. In Vancouver, home prices jumped 16% on average in the past year, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association’s December 2021 Housing Market Update. Meanwhile, in Chilliwack, homes have increased 36.5% in the past year.
The B.C. Assessment Authority has updated its website allowing home owners to see what the property value of their home was as of July 1, 2021. BC’s homeowners can visit bcassessment.ca and search home values under the address. To see how much it has increased in value, homeowners can use this percentage calculator website.
It should be noted, however, that -- like most of the country -- prices have climbed in BC in the six months since July 1. So, the value of many of these properties is actually higher.
While this is great news for BC's homeowners, who can comfortably sit back and watch their wealth grow, the reality is a tough pill to swallow for the province’s would-be first-time homebuyers.
At least the latter can take comfort in the fact they're not alone, nor is BC's story unique. Across Canada, property values have jumped 34% since March of 2020.
