B.C. Lower Mainland homes now worth $50 billion more

January 21, 2021

Vancouver: Three-bedroom bungalow recently listed at $3.25 million. | REW.ca

Owners of more than one million properties in the Lower Mainland have seen values increase by $50 billion over the past 12 months, according to BC Assessment. The total value of these homes is now north of $1 trillion.
Yes, that is trillion, with a T.
"Despite COVID-19, the Lower Mainland residential real estate market has been resilient," noted BC Assessment deputy assessor Bryan Murao.
"For the most part, homeowners can expect relatively moderate increases in value. This incredible strength is a stark contrast to last spring when the market came to a temporary standstill whereas the remainder of the year had a very steady and rapid recovery.”
Total assessments for the Lower Mainland have increased by about $50 billion in value year over year to $1.46 trillion in 2021 (from $1.41 trillion in 2020).
The majority of single-family and strata homes in the region will see increases in the 6 per cent range on their assessments, which were mailed out in January 2021.
At the top of the range are single-detached houses in the City of Vancouver and the District of Squamish (up10 per cent), followed by detached homes on Bowen Island, (up 9 per cent) and in Pemberton, Mission and Port Coquitlam (each up 8 per cent).
As of December 2020, the benchmark price of Vancouver detached houses was $1.95 million, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Condominiums in the District of North Vancouver saw the greatest increase in value (up 6 per cent), followed by the City of North Vancouver and Maple Ridge (each up 5 per cent), the BC Assessment report found.
Strata homes in the City of White Rock (down 2 per cent) and single-family homes on Vancouver’s University Endowment Lands (down 1 per cent) are the only property categories that saw overall decreases in value.
At the provincial level, the total value of residential real estate rose 4.2 per cent year-over-year to $2.01 trillion.