GOLDSTREAM Tragic reflection
NEWS GAZETTE
NEWS: Highlands announces new civic boss /A3 NEWS: CREST radio equipment supplier chosen /A5 SPORTS: Stepping inside Royals’ rookie camp A20
Langford resident recalls horrific motorcycle crash Page A3
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Friday, January 8, 2016
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All charged up in Colwood Colwood resident Judith Cullington holds up a fast charger cable at the Juan de Fuca Park & Ride. The new electric car fast-charging station, which to drivers passing by might resemble a large refrigerator, is operational and able to charge a vehicle from zero to 80 per cent in approximately 30 minutes. See story page A5. Arnold Lim/News Gazette staff
Assessments cranked up a notch for West Shore Katherine Engqvist News Gazette staff
West Shore homeowners and other property holders can expect their 2016 property assessment
notices to land on their doorsteps over the course of the next several days, if they haven’t already done so. While most West Shore communities saw an increase in their assessment roll, a few areas did see a drop despite the overall growth of the region. “It’s a modest increase,” said Reuben Danakody, B.C. Assessment Authority regional assessor for Greater Victoria. He added that
West Shore communities were starting to regain some momentum lost in the years following 2010 due to the recession. “For the first time (since then), we’re seeing some modest growth year after year.” Last year was the first to see that moderate recovery, he said. Overall, this year’s growth for the Capital Region is sitting at between two to eight per cent. Victoria Real Estate Board Presi-
dent Wendy Moreton said the West Shore may not see the same increases in property assessments as other areas of the region, due to demand in the market. And sales play a large role in determining assessment figures. “The price increases were driven in the core (municipalities) by limited product and demand,” she said, adding the West Shore didn’t see as much of that in terms of limited supply.
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A factor that may have helped meet some of that demand, she noted, was a growing variety of housing options on the West Shore. That factor could also work against local neighbourhoods, leading to smaller increases or even decreases in their assessments, Danakody said.
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Property valuations reflect sales, but increased supply helps limit hikes