The numbers are in for the Peace Region’s 2014 Assessment Roll and things are looking up. The average for a single-family residential property in the Peace River Assessment Area is $297,000 for 2014, up 6.8 per cent from last year.
“There has been an increasing trend over the last few years,” said Michael Spatharakis, deputy assessor for the Peace River Region. “That’s primarily related to the resource and major industry sectors in the Peace River Assessment Area; that being oil and gas and mining in particular.”
He noted that the clean energy sector, with a number of wind farms in the region for example, was another industry that played a role in the increasing property value.
“What happens is, with the increased activity in the area there is a lot of people moving into the area,” said Spatharakis. “The value gets pushed up because there’s more people vying for the properties.”
While the value increase for the region as a whole was similar to last year’s 7.7 per cent increase, some districts saw great variance in between this year and last year’s increases.
Tumbler Ridge saw a modest increase of 3.4 per cent for 2014, with the average single-family residential property valued at $246,000. This is a drastic change from last year’s increase of 19.5 per cent in the district.
“Tumbler Ridge is impacted more by mining,” said Spatharakis. “Whereas Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Taylor are impacted more by oil and gas. So there is a bit of a difference that way.”
In Fort St. John a larger increase of 8.8 per cent was seen, with the property value increasing to $348,000 – the highest in the assessment area.
“Any time your assessment increases it’s certainly a good sign for showing what a strong market we have, what a strong growth region,” said Trevor Bolin, Fort St. John city councillor and real estate agent. “In Fort St. John, the biggest factors are going to be some of the mega projects that are certainly in the media: LNG, pipelines, Site C, of course. Every time you see this happening there is growth in the market.”
He noted that an increase in residential property value is a great benefit to homeowners and a sign of positive interest in the community.
“How do you argue with the fact that your home has gone up?” said Bolin. “Most people, their home is the biggest investment they’ll ever hold.”
In Dawson Creek, property value rose to $259,000, an increase of 6.6 per cent from 2013.
“I think it’s a positive indicator that our community is growing. It’s a strength in our community that is showing a positive trend,” said Dawson Creek Mayor Dale Bumstead. “It’s all being driven by the oil and gas industry, the natural gas industry, the Montney Play that we sit on is causing huge opportunities for business in the area and Dawson Creek is feeling the effects.”
Looking around town, Bumstead pointed to the new residential developments and commercial developments, particularly west of town by the airport that are growing the community and the city’s revenue stream.
“That’s showing a positive trend in our community that the investments that are going on in real estate with residential, commercial and industrial. All three of those components for our assessment in 2013 were up,” said Bumstead. “That all means new assessment in our community which adds to new revenue from property taxation, which helps us deliver the services the residents expect of the city.”
Hudson’s Hope saw a fair increase of 9.2 per cent for 2014, although its property remains the lowest in the assessment area at $189,000. The district is steadily climbing with its cumulative property value increase over the past two years being just under 20 per cent.
“Hudson’s Hope, again that’s related to oil and gas activity and it’s possible there could be some speculation it is related to Site C,” said Spatharakis. “I can’t prove that, we’re just reflecting what the market has shown.”
The District of Chetwynd saw a 2.6 per cent increase, with property value for 2014 sitting at $234,000. The District of Taylor saw a similar increase of 2.5 per cent, with property value assessed at $287,000. In Pouce Coupe, property value is up to $213,000, a 9.2 per cent increase from the 2013 assessment.
Spatharakis pointed to the region’s overall assessment roll that increased by $1.21 billion this year, up to $18.69 billion. “Half of that being just from growth which is not market related: subdivisions, rezoning and new construction,” said Spatharakis. “My instinct as a real estate professional is, if activity continues as it does, we’ll continue to see growth.”
