The sky is not falling when it comes to local tax increases, according to the City of Airdrie assessor’s office.
City assessor Valerie Cottreau said the average home value rose 15 per cent in Airdrie between July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022, but most Airdronians will likely not see a massive property tax increase based on their assessment value this year.
That 15 per cent, explained Cottreau, represents the average, or mean, increase of all property values in the city. Those whose home value rose 15 per cent, or who are right on the average, will not pay any additional property taxes in 2023 based on their assessment value.
Those under that 15 per cent mark should actually see a slight decrease in their taxes, Cottreau added.
The assessor said the only homes that will pay more property taxes based on their assessment value are the ones that exceed that average of 15 per cent.
As an example of this scenario, the average single family dwelling in Bayview saw an increase from 2021 to 2022 of 18.34 per cent. According to Cottreau, this means that a typical homeowner in that area of the city will probably pay about 3.34 per cent more in property taxes this year based on their assessed value.
In Summerhill, Big Springs, and Ridgegate, average home prices rose by just over 17 per cent overall. Homeowners there will likely pay about two per cent more in property taxes this year based on their assessed value.
In contrast, Old Town and The Village saw only a modest increase of 8.93 per cent in their property values between 2021 and 2022. Homeowners in those neighbourhoods will actually see a reduction in property taxes of about six per cent on their assessed value.
Cottreau stressed the change in taxes within various areas of the city will vary per home, and that these are merely averages. Those wanting specific information related to their own homes can publicly access their assessments on the City of Airdrie’s website. Because assessment information is public, those who want to look up their home or even their neighbours’ to make a comparison can do so at any time.
However, Cottreau confirmed all property owners in the City of Airdrie will see a jump of 5.97 per cent in property taxes in 2023, even if their assessment value did not exceed the 15 per cent average increase. This is due to City council’s decision to raise base taxes by that amount to offset budgetary shortfalls experienced in 2022 due to rampant inflation.
That 5.97 per cent would be on top of whatever tax increases homeowners experience based on their assessment value increase. So the aforementioned 3.34 per cent increase in Bayview, for example, would be added to the 5.97 per cent for a total of about a 10 per cent overall increase in property taxes.
In Old Town, the six per cent decrease in taxes would essentially be offset and nullified by the increase of 5.97 per cent in base taxes, resulting in a virtually zero per cent change in their taxes.
All that being said, Cottreau cautioned City council has no control over what the province decides to set on the education portion of property taxes. That could lead to an additional tax increase on top of the local property tax increases set by the City.
“The tax rate won’t be finalized until after the provincial budget is released in probably April,” stated Cottreau. “The province tells us how much we owe.”
While that 15 per cent average home increase bar set by the City Assessor’s office may seem high to some Airdronians, it actually probably understates the 2022 market a bit in Airdrie, according to Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).
In May and June of 2022, Lurie said the benchmark price for a single detached family home in Airdrie was actually 20 per cent higher than where it was at the same time of year in 2021. And two months earlier in February and March, that benchmark price was actually 30 per cent higher.
By July 1, when the yearly assessment was conducted, Lurie said it had come down a little from those highs.
“We had incredibly strong sales and the supply basically didn’t keep pace,” she explained. “So we saw that prices increased significantly. In 2021, prices were up on an annual basis about 12 per cent, but in 2022 they increased by 20 per cent.”
The average home price during the first half of 2022 in Airdrie soared as high as $587,000 before coming down to $562,000 by early summer and $550,000 by the end of the year. Even that year-end price was 12 per cent higher than a year earlier, according to Lurie.
“That is far higher than we have seen before,” she said.
Lurie said Airdrie continues to have a tight supply of local housing, which is keeping prices high, but interest rate hikes in 2022 have helped cool off the market a little.
To view the interactive property assessment map on the City’s website visit bit.ly/3WDz3T7
There is also an educational video on Airdrie.ca to help homeowners understand how the assessor’s office arrives at its assessments.
