Notices Mailed:

BC Assessment has mailed 2012 Property Assessment Notices to all property owners. If you haven’t received your Notice, you should contact BC Assessment directly (250-338-8112) or to go to their website www.bcassessment.ca to obtain the 2012 Assessed Value for your property or compare it to other properties nearby. The deadline for an appeal of your assessment (in writing to BC Assessment) is January 31, 2012.

2012 Assessed Values:

For 2012, the median increase to Comox residential assessed values was 2.02% from 2011. The typical Comox property had a decrease in the assessed value of buildings that was a slightly more than offset by the increase in land values. The average single family home value in Comox rose by 2.28% to $358,201 in 2012 (from $350,229 in 2011). The average residential strata property rose by less than 1%.

For commercial property, the majority of assessed values in Comox either went down or were unchanged from 2011 to 2012. Only a few (less than 20) assessed values went up, so the median change was in fact no change at all.

Effect of Assessments on 2012 Property Taxes:

Your 2012 property taxes will be your assessed values times the 2012 tax rates (which will be set in May). The key to understanding how your assessments will affect your property taxes in 2012 is to compare the percentage change in your assessed values to the average change for your class of property (be it residential or commercial). If your property is going down in assessed value when the average assessment for your class of property is rising, your taxes will increase by less (or could actually go down) compared to the average property in your class. If your assessed value rose by more than average, then your 2012 property taxes will also rise by more than the average amount in 2012. So if your assessed value has risen by more than the average increases noted above, and you do not understand why, you should contact BC Assessment to discuss the assessed value and you should consider appealing it. The deadline for filing a written appeal with BC Assessment is January 31, 2012.