Markham among fastest growing cities with $966M increase in property assessment

Ranks 7th on MPAC list of top 10 property values from new construction, renos that also includes Vaughan ($1.49 billion)

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 21, 2021
Heidi Riedner

Property values in Ontario increased by more than $37 billion in 2020, including an increase of $966 million in Markham according to annual assessment rolls released by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) last month.

More than 60 per cent of new property value was located in 10 municipalities, with Markham ranking seventh behind Toronto ($11.65 billion), Ottawa ($2.68 billion), Vaughan ($1.49 billion), Hamilton ($1.15 billion), Mississauga ($1.14 billion) and Brampton ($1.11 billion).

Oakville ($951 million), Milton ($901 million) and London ($706 million) rounded out the list.

“Even during a pandemic, Ontario continues to grow as evidenced by the $37.3 billion in new assessment across Ontario from new construction and improvements to existing properties,” said Nicole McNeill, president and chief administrative officer.

“In 2020, Ontario saw more than 36,000 new residential units and 16,000 residential condominium units. And with people spending more time at home this year, we saw a 28 per cent increase in the number of renovation permits this year as people invested in making improvements to their homes.”

The numbers come strictly from new construction and renovations to existing properties. MPAC did not reassess existing properties that did not undergo renovations in the past year. In March, the Ontario government postponed the provincewide assessment update that was scheduled for this year.

Property values and new assessment numbers for the province continue to be based on Jan. 1, 2016, the valuation date for last provincewide assessment update.

MPAC updates the current value assessment of every property in Ontario every four years to capture changes to properties and the real estate market. Municipalities use assessments as a base for the property taxes needed to pay for community services.