By Nono Shen and Chuck Chiang
BC Evaluation stated owners in B.C.’s most concentrated inhabitants centre in and round Metro Vancouver may anticipate decreases of as much as 10%, reflecting valuations as of July 1 final 12 months.
These declines come amid worth drops within the luxurious market that builders and others have linked to the federal overseas purchaser ban, in addition to B.C.’s overseas purchaser tax and hypothesis and emptiness tax.
Vancouver architect and actual property guide Michael Geller stated there was “little question that the luxurious market has been impacted by the ban on overseas consumers.”
The B.C. Ministry of Finance introduced Friday that the edge for the B.C. house owner grant had been set at $2.075 million this 12 months, down about 4.6% from $2.175 million final 12 months.
It was the primary time the edge for this system, aimed toward offering property tax aid for some owners, had dropped since 2020 when house costs final moderated throughout B.C.
BC Evaluation stated houses in different areas noticed extra secure assessed values, with Vancouver Island and the Southern Inside seeing valuations swinging from five-per-cent will increase to five-per-cent decreases.
The North and the Kootenays, in the meantime, noticed modifications in valuations between 15% will increase and 5 per cent decreases.
“The softening housing market is being mirrored in 2026 property assessments,” stated Bryan Murao with BC Evaluation in an announcement concerning the Decrease Mainland’s decrease assessed values.
The company stated about 1.14 million properties had been assessed within the Decrease Mainland, and whole evaluation values for the area fell to $1.92 trillion for 2026 versus final 12 months’s values at about $2.01 trillion.
The sharpest drop within the area was in White Rock, the place common single-family house values fell 9 per cent to $1.58 million whereas the College Endowment Lands, Richmond and Langley all noticed eight per cent drops.
Single-family house values solely rose in 4 communities within the Decrease Mainland: Anmore with a 4 per cent improve, Harrison Scorching Springs rising three per cent, Squamish two per cent and Pemberton one per cent.
Geller stated worth drops in Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond didn’t shock him, however the Squamish will increase stood out.
He stated Squamish had shortly develop into engaging to youthful households and others on the lookout for an outside way of life, solely about an hour’s drive from downtown Vancouver.
Geller was vital of some elements of the house proprietor grant, saying the province ought to provide extra grants to renters relatively than owners, or develop regional variations to the grant threshold.
“To my thoughts, given all of the provincial deficits and the entire housing scenario, it’s loopy to be giving a home-owner grant to folks in Castlegar on a home price two million {dollars},” stated Geller, referring to an Inside neighborhood the place costs are decrease than within the Decrease Mainland.
The grant threshold had been steadily growing from $1.525 million to the excessive level of $2.175 million final 12 months earlier than this 12 months’s drop.
The ministry stated homeowners of properties valued above the edge should qualify for a partial grant as a result of program’s gradual phaseout course of.
Owners with a dependent youngster, above the age of 55, widowed or with disabilities may qualify for different types of aid such because the B.C. property tax deferment program.
Declining values within the luxurious market prolong all the best way as much as the most costly house in B.C., Lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s waterfront mansion on Vancouver’s Level Gray Street.
The house of greater than 15,000 sq. ft is assessed at about $73.5 million, down 11 per cent from about $82.7 million.
Outspoken Vancouver relator Layla Yang, who has been promoting luxurious houses within the metropolis for a minimum of 10 years, stated the B.C. authorities’s ban on overseas consumers has slowed down Vancouver’s luxurious mansion market and led to evaluation worth drops.
“The issue is, we don’t actually have a wealthy purchaser right here as a result of we banned them. So they can’t purchase and now they go to Dubai,” stated Yang.
Yang, who simply got here again from a enterprise journey in Dubai on Thursday, stated she spent final 12 months looking for a solution to seek out out the place these luxurious house consumers went following the market slowdown.
She discovered that many Chinese language consumers are actually investing in Dubai and Los Angeles.
“I’m being contacted by one other purchaser from Dubai. They stated, ‘You’re so good. Are you able to assist me purchase a five-million-dollar house in Dubai?” stated Yang, “They deal with the foreigners so properly, and so they have a happiness heart. For those who’re not blissful, you possibly can complain.”
One in all B.C.’s well-known builders has argued that luxurious valuations want for come down even additional.
Holborn Group went to the Property Evaluation Overview Board final 12 months to argue {that a} West Vancouver mansion is owns was price $14.7 million, and never the $22.2 million valuation it obtained final 12 months.
Holborn informed the B.C. Property Evaluation Enchantment Board panel that the luxurious market peaked between 2016 and 2018, and elements together with taxes launched between 2016 and 2022 in addition to restrictions on capital outflows from China, had “considerably” affected gross sales and costs within the space.
The attraction was rejected, with Bruce Turner, chair of the attraction board panel, concluding final week that the evaluation was affordable.
The most recent evaluation values the property at about $20.7 million.
Visited 84 instances, 84 go to(s) right now
BC Assessment british columbia foreign buyer ban homeowner grants property assessments The Canadian Press vancouver
Final modified: January 5, 2026
