Depending on how you measure things, the most valuable residential property in Langley this year was worth either $21 million, or $14 million.
BC Assessment released data on the most valuable homes in the Township and City as part of its annual release of data into property values across the province.
For years, Langley’s most valuable residential lot has been a property near 196th and Zero Avenue, but this year it was left off the list – despite hitting a new record value of $21,070,000.
The reason for leaving the site off the list this year was that the property’s value may not lie in its 29.4 acres and its five-bedroom, eight-bathroom house. The value is largely in its potential for subdivision and development, said Bryan Murao, deputy assessor with BC Assessment. Development potential could drive up the value of the land significantly.
Regardless of the cause, the property has shot up in value in the last year. In 2021, it was assessed at $17.8 million, meaning it has increased in price 17.89 per cent in one year.
Back in 2017, at the peak of the last cycle of hot housing markets in the Lower Mainland, the same property was assessed at $15.44 million.
By contrast, the structure is the source of value of the next home on the list, a $14.5 million, five-acre riverfront lot off Allard Crescent, with a 45,000 square foot, 14-bedroom, 22 bathroom house.
Because the property is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, the land is valued at just $8,266. The house alone accounts for the vast majority of the assessed value.
The property saw a sharp increase in value from 2021, when it was valued at $9.9 million. That’s a 46 per cent jump in assessed value in one year.
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Other extremely valuable properties in Langley included an $11.8 million lot on 216th Street north of Walnut Grove, a $9.8 million property in the 5000 block of 224th Street, and a pair or properties in the High Point development in the 300 block of 200th Street, worth $9.2 and $9.1 million.
Langley City, by contrast, had no properties valued at seven figures.
The most expensive residential property in Langley City, on Newlands Drive, was valued at just over $3 million. The rest of the City’s top ten were valued at between $2.7 million and $2.4 million, and most of them were clustered south of the Nicomekl River, on or near Grade Crescent.
BC Assessment conducts its reviews of property values every summer, and releases the data in January. Anyone can see their new assessed value by entering their address on BC Assessment’s website, bcassessment.ca.
The data is used by municipal governments to determine tax rates, but a big jump in assessment does not necessarily mean a big jump in property taxes.
Tax rates are averaged based on how much other dwellings of the same type have increased in value over the past year. A house that went up in value by 20 per cent would see a higher tax rate if that was more than the average value for other houses in that community. Conversely, if a house’s assessed value shrinks, or goes up by less than the average, it can potentially reduce taxes – or at least reduce the impact of any tax increase imposed by the municipal council.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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