Castlegar residential property owners can expect to see their property values increase by about six per cent when they receive their 2025 assessments in the mail in the coming weeks.
BC Assessment released the annual statistics on Jan. 2, reflecting market values as of July 1, 2024. The 2025 assessments are now available online at bcassessment.ca.
Castlegar has seen a wide range of value changes in recent years with average assessments up by 21 per cent in 2022 and 18 per cent in 2023 followed by a slight dip in 2024.
Assessment changes across the West Kootenay ranged from a drop of three percent in the Village of Slocan to a rise of seven per cent in Trail.
Rossland values remained the same while Creston, Kaslo, Warfield and Montrose saw one-per-cent increases followed by Nelson, Fruitvale and Salmo at two per cent. Nakusp, New Denver and Grand Forks all saw four-per-cent increases while Castlegar and Silverton values rose by six per cent.
The typical house in Castlegar was assessed at $520,000, up from $490,000 in 2024. BC Assessment uses numbers based on median home values to calculate their "typical assessed values" for each community.
The lowest typical house values in the West Kootenay are found in Trail at $376,000 and Salmo at $379,000.
The highest West Kootenay values are found in Nelson at $681,000 followed by Rossland at $616,000 and Castlegar at $520,000.
Ranging from $401,000 to $422,000 are New Denver, Warfiled, Slocan, Nakusp, Creston, Grand Forks and Silverton. Montrose, Fruitvale and Kaslo range from $451,000 to $490,000.
It is important to note that the assessed value doesn’t reflect what a property would sell for today, nor does it necessarily mean increases in property tax.
If the property value is similar to the average changes in the community, taxes most likely won’t change much – unless your municipality raises their tax rate significantly.
"As noted on your assessment notice, how your assessment changes relative to the average change in your community is what may affect your property taxes,” said Boris Warkentin, deputy assessor.
“Property owners can find valuable information on our website including answers to many assessment-related questions, but those who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2024 or see incorrect information on their notice, should contact BC Assessment as indicated on their notice as soon as possible in January," said Warkentin.
If a property owner is still concerned about their assessment after speaking to an appraiser, they can submit an appeal by Jan. 31, for further review.
