The B.C. government's decision to lift the threshold to qualify for the homeowner grant will allow around 500 multi-million-dollar properties in Abbotsford to retain their entitlement to an annual credit.
The government announced earlier this week that it would raise the value at which properties stop qualifying for the homeowner grant from $1.2 million to $1.6 million. The grant is $570 for those under 65, and $845 for seniors.
Raising the threshold means the province will pay out $821 million in homeowner grants, an increase of $12 million. The expenditure would have decreased if the government had left it unchanged.
In Abbotsford, the move will benefit the owners of 531 homes valued between $1.2 million and $1.6 million. Assessment BC says another 243 homes are valued in excess of $1.6 million, and won't qualify for the homeowner grant. Last year, 292 properties didn't qualify for the homeowner grant because they were assessed over the threshold.
The vast majority of properties valued at more than $1.2 million this year are acreages that aren't considered working farms – and therefore assessed at discounted rates for agricultural land. Within Abbotsford's urban development boundary, only a handful of residential properties are valued in excess of $1.2 million. Most of those are located in the Eagle Mountain area.
A King Road address assessed at $3.94 million was deemed to be the most valuable residential property in the city by Assessment BC.
Deputy assessor Brian Smith, who visited council Monday to answer questions about the assessment values, says the most valuable property in the city is Abbotsford Regional Hospital, which was assessed at $335 million last year. Highstreet shopping complex was assessed at $228.4 million, while Sevenoaks Shopping Centre was valued at $195.5 million.
In Abbotsford, the amount of total assessed value of all property in the city was $25.66 billion, although that includes thousands of acres of farmland assessed below market rates.
Last year saw approximately $325 million of new construction. Another $180 million added to the rolls came when agricultural properties failed to obtain farm class status and were thus assessed at market rates.