A year after a 38.5% jump in Montreal, it is the turn of homeowners in Quebec City to taste a sharp increase in property assessment roles. The average value of single-family homes in the capital has increased by 30% since the previous year, a sign of the strength of the city’s real estate market.
The biggest increases in value are seen in the outskirts, fertile ground for building homes and more affordable for buyers’ wallets. Single-family homes in La Cité-Limoilou, which includes the central districts, have climbed by an average of 27.4%, while Haute-Saint-Charles, in the northwest corner, has seen the biggest jump in the capital, at 31.2%.
The new role does not break any records despite a high increase. All types of buildings combined, the new assessment exercise sees an average increase of 27.3% — a marked contrast to the two previous roles where it amounted to 3.5% and 2.7%, but which is close to the average of between 23.2% and 30.8% observed between 2007 and 2015.
The city promises that it will not collect any additional revenue from the assessment roll that will come into effect on March 1.er next January. A balancing strategy will lower the tax rate per $100 of valuation to mitigate the effects of the new values on the burden on the population.
Buildings that have seen the biggest increases in value will see the biggest increases. Those, such as office buildings, that have lost value will see a decrease.
Despite this significant increase in property assessment, Quebec remains one of the most accessible markets in Canada. From coast to coast, the average value of single-family homes ranges from $2.15 million in Vancouver to $367,100 in Winnipeg, according to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
In Quebec, the average will be close to $380,000 in 2025 — not comparable to Montreal, where the sale price of row houses and multiplexes was close to $600,000 in July.
Quebec City can boast of having added more than 14,000 housing units on its territory since the previous evaluation exercise — a number in line with the capital’s housing vision and its objective of adding 80,000 units by 2040 to stem the real estate crisis.
More details will follow.