To mark the start of a new year, I received my property assessment in the mail today. Since 2009, the provincial government has calculated, based on their own formula, that my apartment has increased in value by 12% every year. From 2009 to 2010 was a 12% increase and the same from 2010 to 2011. I was quite curious to see what this year’s increase would be.
It turns out my apartment only increased in value by less than 0.5% in 2012, at least according to the government. This is interesting for several reasons. First, this a big difference compared to the previous 12% gains. This might mean that the real estate market has evened out in my area. I was also curious to see that government thinks the big mall below me only increased the value by 0.5% or had no impact on their assessment. In the next few months, there will be a whole slew of retailers down below, including a 10 screen movie theatre. The upside to having such a small increase is that my property taxes will most like remain at the amount it was last year. In my first year living here, my taxes were well below $1000 but the 12% increases changed all that. At least now, we’ve reached a bit of a plateau.
The provincial assessments are all online now. So if you know my address, you can actually see what my apartment is worth according to the government. You can look up your friends and co-workers too if you want. The online data also tells you how much surrounding properties were sold for, if the sale was done in 2011. The apartment above me, which has the same layout as I do, was sold in the summer. It was sold for almost $50K more than what I bought mine for. Who knows though, the apartment above me might have had gold fixtures and diamond walls so keep that in mind.
I wonder what next year will bring?