Cranbrook averaged a five per cent increase in the value of single family homes in the city, according to an annual update from B.C. Assessment.
The average single family home value in Cranbrook is now $468,000, based on market value on July 1, 2023, rising from $448,000 from the year prior.
Strata homes — condos and townhouses — in Cranbrook have also increased by six per cent, rising to an average of $262,000.
In Kimberley, the average single family home price rose by six per cent and now sits at $499,000.
Elsewhere in the East Kootenays, Invermere rose by 10 per cent, Fernie and Creston both rose by one per cent and Canal Flats had the largest in crease in the region at 13 per cent.
“Most homeowners throughout the Southern Interior can expect modest changes and even some decreases in their assessment values,” said Boris Warkentin, Southern Interior Deputy Assessor. “With the softer real estate market, most changes in home values will be somewhere between -10% to +5% in the Thompson-Okanagan communities whereas Kootenay Columbia changes are slightly more at -10% to +10%. Lytton is the exception with larger increases as market activity recovers in the community.”
The highest value property in the region is a waterfront property on Lake Windermere in the District of Invermere, at approximately $8 million.
In the Southern Interior region, total assessments are valued at $315 billion, while approximately $5.9 billion is through new construction, subdivisions and rezoning.
Anyone concerned about their property assessment can file a notice of complaint for an independent review by a Property Assessment Review Panel.
Members of the Property Assessment Review Panels, which is independent of BC Assessment, are appointed annually by the provincial government, and typically meet between February 1 and March 15 to hear formal complaints.
“It is important to understand that changes in property assessments do not automatically translate into a corresponding change in property taxes,” said Warkentin. “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.”
