Have you seen your 2023 property tax assessment yet? If you live in Edmonton, The City of Edmonton mailed out tax assessments the week of January 16, 2023.
Often homeowners will see a drop in the assessed value determined by the city and panic thinking it means their home has gone down in value. But panic not, here’s your annual reminder that your tax assessed value is not the same as market value! Market value is what your home value would be if you sold your home or if you refinanced your mortgage.
What is the property tax assessed value and what is the difference?
Yes, the city says the property tax assessment reflects the estimated market value of your property on July 1st of the previous year but remember, this number is determined by mass appraisal to determine each homes share of property taxes. That means that this number is calculated by a computer based on the things the city knows about your home. This mass appraisal takes into account lots of the same things as would be looked at in determining market value (location, style of home, size, whether you have a garage, etc). It however does not include many other things that significantly factor into market value; things like the finishes in the house, the overall condition, upgrades and curb appeal. The city doesn’t know if you have hardwood floors or green shag carpet from 1972. It doesn’t know if you have brand new top of the line appliances or just a toaster oven and a beer fridge. It doesn’t know if your house is packed to the roof with junk or whether your floors are so clean you could eat off them. All these types of things come into play when determining the market value! (Note: the city of course does know when you do upgrades that require permits like finishing your basement or adding a bathroom!)
So while your property tax assessment gives you a very rough estimate of what your home is worth, don’t stress if your number doesn’t seem quite right as values way off in both directions are not uncommon. The city even has a dispute process in place if you think your assessed value is too high! If you’d like a better idea of what your actual market value is, reach out to your favourite realtor (if you need a recommendation, please reach out and we’d be happy to connect you with someone great). If you are thinking about refinancing or selling your home in 2023 our mortgage brokers would be happy to help!
