Despite the downturn in the economy over the last four years homes in both Woolwich and Wellesley townships have gained value.
Wellesley’s housing values are up 11.14 per cent, while Woolwich has seen an increase of 10.5 per cent since 2008.
In Wellesley homeowners will see the assessed value of their property increase by an average of 2.47 per cent in 2013 while Woolwich will see an increase of 2.24 per cent, according to new figures from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
The increase in Wellesley can be attributed to the 26.05 per cent increase in condominiums in the township as well as an 8.7 per cent increase in semi-detached homes over the last four years.
“Residential property values have increased by an average of approximately 15.3 per cent in Waterloo Region since 2008 when the last assessment update was delivered,” said Jon Hebden, municipal relations representative in MPAC’s Kitchener office. “The entire region has seen an increase including the townships.”
Farmland in Wellesley has increased in value by approximately 45.23 per cent. With the four-year phase-in, property owners will see an average increase of approximately 11.27 per cent. In Woolwich farmland has increased to 33.56.
The three major cities in the region saw uneven increases with Waterloo housing values increasing to 17.8 per cent, Kitchener is at 17.4 per cent and Cambridge only increased to 11.7 per cent.
The region is slightly lower than the provincial housing values of 18.5 per cent. That increase can be attributed to an increased housing market in the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa and a mining boom in Northern Ontario that increased high home prices, helping to lift Ontario’s average.
Southern Ontario suffered because of the manufacturing downturn which caused unemployment and lowered incomes dampening housing increases.
An increase in assessment does not necessarily mean an increase in property taxes.
If the assessed value of a home has increased by the same percentage as the average in the municipality, there may not be an increase in the property taxes paid by property owners.
MPAC is a not-for-profit corporation funded by all Ontario municipalities. MPAC is responsible for administering a uniform, province-wide property assessment system based on current values. The organization provides the preparation of annual assessment rolls for use by municipalities and the province to calculate property taxes and education taxes.
Property owners can check the accuracy of their assessment at www.aboutmyproperty.ca. If property owners believe their assessment is not correct, they have the option of filing a request for reconsideration and MPAC will review their assessment free of charge.
