MPAC notices in mail; Richmond Hill residents learn how much home values increased

Average increase in Richmond Hill 11.8 per cent

Yorkregion.com
June 16, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

If you own property in York Region, you probably already know that your investment has grown in value in recent years - and if you own in Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville and Markham, you have done especially well.

Richmond Hill homeowners, however, are at the top of the heap - in the region and across the entire province -when it comes to increases in residential values, according to the latest report from Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

The average residential assessment increase in York Region for 2017 was 10.1 per cent.

Richmond Hill led the pack with 11.8 per cent, followed by Whitchurch-Stouffville at 11.5 per cent and Markham at 11.4 per cent.

The region outpaced the rest of the province; Ontario-wide values rose an average of 4.5 per cent in each of the past four years.

Richmond Hill property owners saw an average assessment increase of more than 47 per cent since 2012, according to MPAC’s Natasha Dawood.

The Market Trends report released this week for Richmond Hill says several factors are fueling the municipality’s increase, including its “proximity to Toronto, significant investment in transit infrastructure and local and foreign investment”.

The planned extension of the Yonge-University subway line into the Richmond Hill Centre is also contributing to an active residential market, the report said.

Neighbourhoods with the highest increase were located in an area north of 19th Avenue, west of Leslie, south of the railway (17 per cent) and east of Leslie Street (15 per cent).

Thanks to new development around Lake Wilcox, value of waterfront homes also soared - 16.3 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent for waterfront homes elsewhere in York Region, Dawood said.

Lowest increases in Richmond Hill were found in the southeast corner of Stouffville Road and Bayview Avenue and southeast of Bloomington Road and Yonge Street - both at 9 per cent.

This year’s valuations are based on the property’s assessed value of Jan. 1, 2016.

Official notices of assessment change were mailed to York Region homeowners this week, but the change does not mean your taxes will automatically increase.

Whether your taxes go up as a result of an assessment increase is dependent on how your assessment change compares with the average change across the municipality.

A video explaining the process can be found at richmondhill.ca. To see more market trends, visit aboutmyproperty.ca.