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By Nono Shen and Chuck Chiang<\/strong><\/p>\n BC Assessment said homeowners in B.C.\u2019s most concentrated population centre in and around Metro Vancouver could expect decreases of up to 10%, reflecting valuations as of July 1 last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those declines come amid price drops in the luxury market that developers and others have linked to the federal foreign buyer ban, as well as B.C.\u2019s foreign buyer tax and speculation and vacancy tax.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vancouver architect and real estate consultant Michael Geller said there was \u201cno doubt that the luxury market has been impacted by the ban on foreign buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n The B.C. Ministry of Finance announced Friday that the threshold for the B.C. homeowner grant had been set at $2.075 million this year, down about 4.6% from $2.175 million last year.<\/p>\n It was the first time the threshold for the program, aimed at providing property tax relief for some homeowners, had dropped since 2020 when home prices last moderated across B.C.<\/p>\n BC Assessment said homes in other regions saw more stable assessed values, with Vancouver Island and the Southern Interior seeing valuations swinging from five-per-cent increases to five-per-cent decreases.<\/p>\n The North and the Kootenays, meanwhile, saw changes in valuations \u00a0between 15% increases and five per cent decreases.<\/p>\n \u201cThe softening housing market is being reflected in 2026 property assessments,\u201d said Bryan Murao with BC Assessment in a statement about the Lower Mainland\u2019s lower assessed values.<\/p>\n The agency said about 1.14 million properties were assessed in the Lower Mainland, and total assessment values for the region fell to $1.92 trillion for 2026 versus last year\u2019s values at about $2.01 trillion.<\/p>\n The sharpest drop in the region was in White Rock, where average single-family home values fell nine per cent to $1.58 million while the University Endowment Lands, Richmond and Langley all saw eight per cent drops.<\/p>\n Single-family home values only rose in four communities in the Lower Mainland: Anmore with a four per cent increase, Harrison Hot Springs rising three per cent, Squamish two per cent and Pemberton one per cent.<\/p>\n Geller said price drops in Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond didn\u2019t surprise him, but the Squamish increases stood out.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said Squamish had quickly become attractive to younger families and others looking for an outdoor lifestyle, only about an hour\u2019s drive from downtown Vancouver.\u00a0<\/p>\n Geller was critical of some aspects of the home owner grant, saying the province should offer more grants to renters rather than homeowners, or develop regional variations to the grant threshold.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo my mind, given all the provincial deficits and the whole housing situation, it\u2019s crazy to be giving a homeowner grant to people in Castlegar on a house worth two million dollars,\u201d said Geller, referring to an Interior community where prices are lower than in the Lower Mainland.\u00a0<\/p>\n The grant threshold had been steadily increasing from $1.525 million to the high point of $2.175 million last year before this year\u2019s drop.<\/p>\n The ministry said owners of properties valued above the threshold may still qualify for a partial grant due to the program\u2019s gradual phaseout process.<\/p>\n Homeowners with a dependent child, above the age of 55, widowed or with disabilities can also qualify for other forms of relief such as the B.C. property tax deferment program.<\/p>\n Declining values in the luxury market extend all the way up to the most expensive home in B.C., Lululemon founder Chip Wilson\u2019s waterfront mansion on Vancouver\u2019s Point Grey Road.<\/p>\n The home of more than 15,000 square feet is assessed at about $73.5 million, down 11 per cent from about $82.7 million.<\/p>\n Outspoken Vancouver relator Layla Yang, who has been selling luxurious homes in the city for at least 10 years, said the B.C. government\u2019s ban on foreign buyers has slowed down Vancouver\u2019s luxurious mansion market and led to assessment value drops.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is, we don\u2019t even have a rich buyer here because we banned them. So they cannot buy and now they go to Dubai,\u201d said Yang.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yang, who just came back from a business trip in Dubai on Thursday, said she spent last year searching for an answer to find out where these luxurious home buyers went following the market slowdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n She found out that many Chinese buyers are now investing in Dubai and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m being contacted by another buyer from Dubai. They said, \u2018You are so good. Can you help me buy a five-million-dollar home in Dubai?\u201d said Yang, \u201cThey treat the foreigners so nicely, \u00a0and they have a happiness center. If you\u2019re not happy, you can complain.\u201d<\/p>\n One of B.C.\u2019s well-known developers has argued that luxury valuations need for come down even further.<\/p>\n Holborn Group went to the Property Assessment Review Board last year to argue that a West Vancouver mansion is owns was worth $14.7 million, and not the $22.2 million valuation it received last year.<\/p>\n Holborn told the B.C. Property Assessment Appeal Board panel that the luxury market peaked between 2016 and 2018, and factors including taxes introduced between 2016 and 2022 as well as restrictions on capital outflows from China, had \u201csignificantly\u201d affected sales and prices in the area.<\/p>\n The appeal was rejected, with Bruce Turner, chair of the appeal board panel, concluding last week that the assessment was reasonable.<\/p>\n The latest assessment values the property at about $20.7 million.<\/p>\n Visited 113 times, 113 visit(s) today<\/p>\n BC Assessment british columbia foreign buyer ban homeowner grants property assessments The Canadian Press vancouver<\/p>\n Last modified: January 5, 2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n