Chilliwack Times, January 07, 2016

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HEY JUDE, YOU’RE CHILLIWACK’S NEW YEAR’S BABY

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Chilliwack

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

Record year for weather

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YEAR IN REVIEW

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We take a look at the second half of the year { Page A5 }

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BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com

2016 property assessments have risen modestly for many, while for some, they’ve gone . . .

You could say it was hot and dry BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com

T

If

they haven’t already, owners of single family homes in Chilliwack will get a bit of a surprise this week as 2016 assessed values are up between five and 15 per cent over 2015. Owners of townhouses and condominiums, however, will see small increases in the zero to five per cent range. The average residential increase across all properties in Chilliwack is 5.35 per cent, and the average increase in business assessments in Chilliwack is 6.5 per cent. But even those increases at the upper end locally are lower than jumps as high as 25 per cent in some Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods, even as close as Surrey, and other areas in the Fraser Valley region such as South Delta and parts of Richmond. Some examples in Chilliwack: a single family home on Portage Avenue downtown increased 8.9 per cent to $368,000 this year; a duplex on Cheamview Crescent in Garrison Crossing increased 11.4 per cent to $322,000; and a home on one acre in Rosedale increased five per cent to $341,300. “The majority of residential homeowners within the region can expect a modest increase compared to last year’s assessment,” said BC Assessment deputy assessor Brian Smith. None of this will come as a surprise to those in real estate as demand for housing locally went through the roof in 2015 with near record sales month after month, according to the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Last month there were 229 sales worth $82.2 million in the district up from 163 sales worth $55.2 million in December 2014. And it’s the demand for, and subsequent short supply of, single family homes that is driving the numbers up. The highest number of sales last month were in the $400,000 to $500,000 range. “We have seen a substantial increase in the sale of single family homes, spurred by a number of factors,” CADREB resident Travis Heppner said. “Buyers are still on the migration from points further west, and with the latest assessments in metropolitan areas driving taxes up, homeowners will look to the Fraser Valley even more so for housing affordability.” City hall, however, reminds property owners that an increased property value does not necessarily mean increased property taxes as is often assumed. The effect of increases and decreases in assessments are factored out when

THROUGH THE ROOF

wo words best describe the weather in 2015 in Chilliwack: Hot and dry. With mean temperatures 2.64 C above normal, it was the second consecutive year with record-breaking high mean temperatures, continuing the warming trend that started in 1986, according to Roger Pannett, volunteer weather observer for Environment Canada. After the record-breaking summers of 2013 (2.33 C above normal) and 2014 (2.64 C above normal), the summer of 2015 was the hottest on record at 3.81 C above normal. EB IRST T h e r e w e r e First reported on a t o t a l o f 6 7 chilliwacktimes.com record-breaking high temperatures observed in 2015 in Chilliwack and no low temperature records. Hot, yes, but dry too. With April and May’s combined rainfall 58 per cent below normal it was the driest since 1912. This was followed by the driest June in over 136 years with rainfall 89 per cent below normal, Pannett said. The lack of rain in May had farmers desperate for rain in June. And in July, Chilliwack city hall increased water restrictions a week after the provincial government announced the drought rating for the area was at level four, the highest possible. While rainfall was actually above normal in July and August (March, too), total precipitation for the year was 1,402.6 millimetres (mm), 25 per cent below the 30-year average of 1,880.1 mm.

W F

Promontory

2015

2016

$374,000 +13% $421,000 2015

Rosedale

2016

$259,000 +5% $272,000

* Examples of Chilliwack property assessments in two neighbourhoods

7372312

{ See ASSESSMENTS, page A13 }

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