Property values plummet in RR

News Release
MPAC

Property Assessment Notices in the mail to more than 114,000 property owners in the Thunder Bay, Kenora & Rainy River Districts in the first assessment update since 2005.
Fort Frances, Ontario, November 10, 2008 – Town of Fort Frances residential property taxpayers will see an average assessment increase of approximately 2.48 per cent in 2009 as a result of the four-year phase-in of assessment increases introduced by the Provincial Government.
“Residential property values have increased by approximately 10.85 per cent in the Town of Fort Frances since 2005, when the last assessment update was done. Because of the four-year phase-in introduced by the Provincial Government, Fort Frances property taxpayers will see an average assessment increase of approximately 2.48 per cent next year,” said Darlene Morgan, Municipal Relations Representative in the Thunder Bay Office of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
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 might be no increase in the property taxes paid by a property owner.
Residential property values have increased in other communites as well:
In the Township of Alberton, values have increased by approximately 1.70 per cent for the 2009 tax year.
In the Township of Emo, values have increased by approximately 1.26 per cent for the 2009 tax year.
In the Township of La Vallee, values have increased by approximately 3.45 per cent for the 2009 tax year.
In the Township of Lake of the Woods, values have increased by approximately 1.86 per cent for the 2009 tax year.
Residential property values have decreased in some municipalities:
In the Township of Atikokan, values have decreased by approximately 4.70 per cent.
In the Township of Chapple, values have decreased by approximately 2 per cent.
In the Township of Morley, values have decreased by approximately 3.43 per cent.
In the Township of Dawson, values have decreased by approximately 1.68 per cent.
In theTown of Rainy River, values have decreased by approximately 5.75 per cent.
The phase-in program does not apply to decreases in assessed value. The full amount of a decrease will be applied during the 2009 tax year.
Since 2005, waterfront property in most municipalities within the Rainy River District has also increased in value. In the Town of Fort Frances, waterfront values have increased by approximately 1.39 per cent for the 2009 tax year. In Lake of the Woods, waterfront values have increased by approximately 1.69 per cent for the 2009 tax year.
“Our values are based on actual selling prices and reflect the local real estate market,” Morgan said. “We have seen selling prices for homes and waterfront property increase over the past three years and our values show that.”
Municipalities establish tax rates that are applied to assessed values to pay for local services, and the Provincial Government sets rates for the education portion of the tax.
“We have made a number of changes to improve customer service and provide property taxpayers with more information that they can use to decide if their assessed value is accurate,” Morgan said.
The changes include redesigning the Property Assessment Notice to make it easier to read and new services on our website that make it easier for people to compare properties and decide if their assessment is correct.
“Our role is to assess property accurately. We strive for accuracy but when assessing nearly 4.7 million properties across Ontario, mistakes can be made. If a property taxpayer believes an error has been made and that his or her property would not have sold for its assessed value on January 1, 2008, we want them to call us or visit our Fort Frances office. We’ll explain how we arrived at the assessment and, if it’s wrong, we’ll fix it,” Morgan said.
Hours at the Fort Frances office will be extended from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday through December 5 to respond to local taxpayers’ questions. The regular hours at the Fort Frances office are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Property taxpayers can also call the Customer Contact Centre at 1 866 296-6722 (MPAC) or visit the MPAC website at www.mpac.ca for more information.