North Okanagan home values trending up

VERNON – There’s an upswing in the assessed value of homes in the North Okanagan.

According to B.C. Assessment’s latest number-crunching, single family residential properties rose in value in most communities in the North Okanagan and Shuswap regions between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015.

The biggest jumps were in Spallumcheen and Salmon Arm which saw the typical assessed values of homes rise around 10 per cent. For Spallumcheen, the typical home value rose to $364,900 in 2015 from $331,500 in 2014. In Salmon Arm, values spiked to $356,400 up from $323,300.

Increases were more moderate throughout Vernon, Coldstream, Enderby and Armstrong. In Vernon, the typical home jumped to $415,000 from $393,600, a rise of about 5.4 per cent, while in Armstrong values rose to around $316,800 from $299,400, about 5.8 per cent. Coldstream saw typical assessed values climb to $547,700 from $515,300, about 6.9 per cent. Coldstream is also the only community to have a property make the Thompson-Okanagan's top 100 most valued list; 8200 Kalavista Dr. made number 26 with a total taxable value of $5,388,000.

Enderby saw a small increase of 3.3 per cent, with typical home values rising to $244,900 up from $237,000. The only community to see values decrease across the region was Sicamous, which saw values dip to $301,000 from $308,000, a reduction of about 2 per cent.

You can look up your property’s assessed value, or your neighbour's, online.

Anyone who feels their property was not accurately assessed is advised to contact B.C. Assessment as soon as possible in January.

During the month of January, office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Property owners can contact B.C. Assessment toll-free at 1-866-valueBC (1-866-825-8322) or online at bcasssessment.ca.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.