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JANUARY 2, 2019 | Volume 32 No. 1
WEATHER Cloudy High -1 C Low -2 C SNOW REPORT
KTW
Sun Peaks Resort Mid-mountain: 101 cm Alpine: 120 cm Harper Mountain Snow base: 51 cm
WEDNESDAY
NITO’S NEATO
LOCKING IN HOPE Public art project and food bank fundraiser at Riverside Park
A legend at RIH retires amid many accolades
NEWS/A10
NEWS/A3
Property assessments released Wednesday
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? A look back at stories and newsmakers
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
KTW FILE PHOTO After spending nearly two decades with Western Canada Theatre, Lori Marchand moved to Ottawa to become managing director of the Indigenous Theatre of the National Arts Centre. Read more about Marchand’s transition on page A5. More Where Are They Now? stories can be found on pages A4, A6, A7, A13 and online at kamloopsthisweek.com.
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More than two-million homeowners in Kamloops and across B.C. will learn on Wednesday what their properties are worth when BC Assessment releases its 2019 assessment changes. All statistics will be posted online at bcassessment.ca. The website will also list the 2019 top valued residential properties for all of British Columbia and by region and city. The public can use the free property assessment search tool at bcassessment.ca to compare their 2019 property assessment to others. They can also search, check and compare 2019 property assessments for any property within the province. Last month, BC Assessment noted that, after years of dramatic increases in British Columbia’s annual property assessments, there are signs of moderation as the real estate market softens in some areas of the province. In the Kamloops area, assessment increases of between five and 15 per cent are expected. The 2019 property assessments are based on what was happening in the real estate market as of July 1 this year. Property owners whose assessments are increasing significantly more than the average change should have already received notification letters from BC Assessment. “It’s a real mix in property value changes, but the market can best be summed up as showing signs of
stability across most areas of the province,â€? assessor Tina Ireland said. “Changes in property assessments really depend on where you live. “For example, assessed values for detached single-family homes in many areas of Metro Vancouver may see a softening in value, while other markets and areas of the province will see modest increases over last year’s values.â€? Based on what was happening in the real estate market as of July 1 this year, the 2019 property assessment highlights include: • Expect increases of between five and 15 per cent for single-family home assessed values in the Kamloops area, Okanagan, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the North. In many parts of central and northern Vancouver Island, values were increasing closer to 20 per cent. In Kitimat, the increases were even greater in response to activity within the resource sector. • The residential strata market (i.e. condominiums) increased with typical values of between 10 and 20 per cent across most areas of the province. Vancouver, the North Shore and Burnaby increases were slightly less than this range, while the eastern Fraser Valley increases may be higher in some cases. • Typical commercial and industrial properties experience continued increases across most of the province in the 10 to 20 per cent, with some markets around Metro Vancouver up 30 per cent.