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BC Property Assessment by Region [Video]

Katherine Martin • January 11, 2016

This is the 2016 British Columbia property assessment overview. Prepared for you by us, BC Assessment, your trusted go-to source for property information.

2016 property assessments are based on property values as of July 1st, 2015. So if you own property in BC, your property assessment will be mailed to you in January, so look for your assessment in the mail. There are some interesting facts to consider for 2016, for example, the total number of properties within BC has increased to about 2 million or 1.06% increase from 2015. The total value of all real estate has increased over 1.3 trillion dollars. That’s an 11.1% increase from 2015, and the value-added from new construction, subdivisions and rezoning alone is equal to 20.3 six billion dollars, an 8.9% increase from 2015.

Let’s take a look at some highlights in BC’s regions, starting in Greater Vancouver where 2016 increases are quite dramatic.

A typical urban residential single detached home is up 15-30 % and climbing compared to last year.
Urban residential strata units, are generally up a relatively modest 10%, and greater Vancouver’s highest assessed home, is nearly sixty four million dollars for 2016.
Greater Vancouver’s urban commercial properties are also up significantly, with typical increases in the 10-25% range for 2016.

Next stop, let’s head further south, here we have included southern parts of Metro Vancouver, such as Richmond and Surrey, along with the usual Fraser Valley Community.

Typical residential single detached homes have increased by 5-25% in urban areas, with changes of minus 5 plus 5% in rural areas.
Residential strata units have generally experienced an increase of 0-10% compared to last year and commercial property increases, are in the 5-15% range.

Now let’s head further east to the Thompson Okanagan region.

Typical residential homes increased anywhere from 0-10% in urban areas, and 0-5% in rural areas.
Changes to commercial property assessments are generally in the minus 5 to plus 10% range.

Next off, let’s head over to the Kootenay Columbia region.

Typical residential homes are experiencing changes of 0-10%, in both rural and urban areas.
Commercial properties are generally changing by minus 5 to plus 5%.

Now let’s head north to the vast northern BC region.

Both residential homes, as well as commercial properties have experienced changes in the range of 0-10%, in both rural and urban areas.

Finally, let’s head back south, down the coast, to the Vancouver Island region.

Across the island typical residential homes have changed in the minus 5 to plus 10% range compared to last year
Commercial properties are generally changing minus 5 to plus 5%

Here’s how each region’s single highest assessed home stacks up for 2016. The Greater Vancouver region, Vancouver Island region, the Fraser Valley region, the Thompson Okanagan region, the Kootenay Columbia region, and the northern BC region. To find out more on the top value of residential properties in your region, visit the top 100 lists for each region and the expanded top 500 list for the entire province at bcassessment.ca.

With our comprehensive approach and innovative technologies, such as street front imagery and 3D modeling, and by using a number of information sources; like building permits, land titles office, real estate transactions, on-site inspection, aerial and street front imagery, and owner reporting through online questionnaires and forms. We prepare fair, uniform, and equitable assessments. We want to make sure we give you the best customer service and most accurate information possible. So, look for your assessment in the mail arriving in January. We encourage you to compare it online to other property values in your area, using our evalue BC service at bcassessment.ca.

If you haven’t received your assessment, or if you have more questions about your assessment after using our services, call us at 1 866 value BC. If you want to file an appeal, you need to file by the February 1st, 2016 deadline. We value conversation, so start the conversation, by following us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We are BC Assessment your trusted go-to source for property information, and we value BC.

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Katherine Martin

Origin Mortgages

Phone: 1-604-454-0843
Email: kmartin@planmymortgage.ca
Fax: 1-604-454-0842

Improving Your Credit Score

By Katherine Martin • February 19, 2025

Your credit score and how you manage credit are huge factors in qualifying for a mortgage. If you want the best interest rates and mortgage products available on the market, you want a high credit score. Here are a few things you can do to improve your credit score. Make all your payments on time. Making your payments on time is so important; in fact, it might just be the most important factor in managing your credit. Here's how credit works. When you borrow money from a lender, you agree to make payments with interest on a set schedule until the debt is repaid in full. Good credit is established and maintained by making your payments on time. However, If you break the terms of that schedule by not making your payments, the lender will report the missed payments to the credit reporting agencies, and your credit score suffers. It’s that simple. The more payments you miss, the lower your score will be. If you fail to make payments for over 120 days, the lender will most likely send your debt to be recovered by a collection agency. Collections stay on your report for a long time. So the moment you realize you have missed a payment or as soon as you have the money for it, make the payment. If something prevents you from making a payment, consider contacting the lender directly to let them know what happened and work out an arrangement to make the payment as soon as possible. It's good to note that lenders only report late payments after a payment is 30 days late. If you miss a payment on a Friday and catch it the following Monday, you won't have anything to worry about - except maybe an NSF fee. Now, just because payments don't report until being 30 days late, don’t get comfortable with making late payments; the best advice is to pay your debts on time, as agreed. Stop acquiring new credit. If you already have at least two different trade lines, you shouldn’t acquire new trade lines just for the sake of it. Of course, if you need to borrow money, like to purchase a vehicle to commute to work, go ahead and apply. Just remember: having more credit available to you doesn’t really help your credit score. In fact, each time a potential lender looks at your credit report, it may lower your credit score a little bit. With that said, if you already have two different trade lines and your lender offers you an increase on your limit, take it. A credit card with a $10k limit is better for you than a credit card with a $2k limit because how much you spend compared to your credit card's limit impacts your credit score. This leads us directly into the next point. Keep a reasonable balance. The more credit you use compared to the limit you have, the less creditworthy you appear. It’s better to carry a reasonable balance (15-25% of the card’s limit) and pay it off each month than to max out your credit cards and just make the minimum payments. If you have to spend more than 25% of your card limit, try to remain under 60%. That shows good utilization. Paying down your credit cards every month and carrying a zero balance will undoubtedly improve your credit score. Check your credit report regularly. Did you know that roughly 20% of credit reports have misinformation on them? Mistakes happen all the time. Lenders misreport information, or people with the same names get merged reports. Any number of things could be inaccurate without you knowing about it. You might even have become a victim of fraud or identity theft. By checking your credit regularly, you can stay on top of everything and correct any errors promptly. Both of Canada's credit reporting agencies, Equifax and Transunion, have programs that, for a small fee, will monitor and update you on any changes made to your credit report. Handle collections immediately. When checking your credit report for accuracy, if you happen to find a collection has been registered against you, deal with it immediately. It could be a closed-out cell phone account with a small balance owing, a final utility bill that got missed, unpaid parking tickets, wage garnishments, or spousal support payments. Regardless of what it is, it will harm your credit score if it's registered on your credit report. The best plan of action is to handle any collections or delinquent accounts as soon as possible. Use your credit card. If you have acquired credit cards to build your credit score, but you rarely use them, there is a chance the lender might not report your usage, and that won’t help your credit score. You'll want to make sure that you use your credit at least once every three months. Many people find success using their credit cards for gas and groceries and paying off the outstanding balance each month. There you have it. Regardless of what your credit looks like now, you will continue to increase your credit score if you follow the points outlined above. If you're looking to buy a property and you’d like to work through your credit report in detail, let’s put together a plan to get you qualified for a mortgage. Get in touch anytime; it would be a pleasure to work with you!

How To Establish New Credit

By Katherine Martin • February 12, 2025

If you’re new to managing personal finance and you want to learn about credit, you’ve come to the right place. Establishing new credit is a bit of a catch-22. To build a credit history, you need credit. But it’s hard to get credit without having a credit history. So, where do you start? Well, the first thing you should know is that building credit takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight. If you’re looking to secure mortgage financing, you will want to have a minimum of two trade lines (credit cards, loans, or lines of credit) with a minimum limit of $2500, reporting for at least two years. If you don’t have any credit yet, the best time to get started is right now. However, that may be difficult because, as we've already identified, without a credit history, most lenders won’t feel confident about taking a chance on you. What’s the solution? Consider a secured credit card. With a secured credit card, you make a deposit upfront that matches the amount you want to borrow. A reasonable amount would be $1000 deposited on a single secured credit card. You then use your secured credit card to make household purchases and regular utility payments, paying off the total balance each month. If you default on the money borrowed for whatever reason, the lender will retain the money you put up as collateral. When looking for a secured credit card, be sure to ask whether they report to the two nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. If the credit card company doesn't report, the credit card account will be useless for your purposes; move on until you find a company that reports to both credit bureaus. Once your secured credit card begins reporting to the credit bureaus, you begin to have a credit score; usually, this takes about three months. Now you can start to seek out a second trade line in the form of an unsecured credit card. Don’t forget to ensure that this card reports to both of the credit reporting agencies. Another option at this point could be a car loan. From here, you simply want to make all your payments on time! But what happens if you’re looking to secure mortgage financing before you have a fully established credit report? Well, if you have someone who would consider co-signing, you can certainly go that route. The mortgage application will depend on their income and credit report, but your name will be on the mortgage. Hopefully, when the mortgage is up for renewal, you’ll have the established credit required to remove them from the mortgage and qualify on your own. Although establishing credit takes a minimum of two years, it really begins with putting together a plan. If you’d like to discuss anything credit or mortgage-related, please get in touch!