With the filing of the new property valuation list in Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval, assessments increased by an average of $81,800, a 31% increase compared to the previous list. This reflects the enthusiasm of the municipality in recent years, but the city promises that the significant increase will not lead to a corresponding tax increase.
Many residents wonder how the valuation rose so much. They compare the size of their respective increases on social networks.
A community resident who moved in five years ago, when home prices were still reasonable, noted an increase of $114,000. “I had an increase of about $30,000 three years ago,” he notes in an interview with Radio-Canada.
One gets the impression that it does not represent the Sainte-Brigitte market. This is somewhat surprising, emphasizes Anne-Marie Desrosiers, who has lived there for two and a half years. Its value increased by about $80,000.
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The municipality of Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval must adjust its tax rates in the next budget. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
Ariane Tremblay, deputy general manager and treasurer of the municipality, assures that this increase is due to a rigorous process. Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval, like the rest of the MRC de la Jacques-Cartier, works with Groupe Altus to carry out the assessments.
Above all, the fact that the city had to renew its role for the next three years this year explains the increase. When we submit a job, they reflect the values of a market in July 2022. We were in a real estate boom, the end of the pandemic and everyone was looking for houses everywhere, points out Ariane Tremblay.
Since a rolling report occurs every three years, the valuations are only slightly adjusted between submissions to reflect important market trends. But this time there was important catching up to do.
A bit of a victim of our popularity with telecommuting and the evolution of the market, we’ve seen a boom in home buying. “I can say that our houses are in demand,” states the treasurer.
For example, in the last such exercise in 2020, the increase was 10%. The gap is really significant. It is truly extraordinary, she adds.
A reduction in tax rates
After learning about the increase, citizens are concerned.
Sure, it’s fun to see the value of what you purchase increase, but it’s more about seeing what the city will do in terms of taxes. Let’s say 8% of $400,000 is more than 8% of $300,000, says Anne-Marie Desrosiers.
Delphine Deguise had to pay about $80,000 more for her semi-detached home she purchased in October 2022 because she only added half a patio. The rating has almost halved. “So the reflex we have is to think that taxes are going to go up by half,” she adds.
The deputy general manager of the municipality explains that the increase in duties will not affect the amount of taxes payable by residents. Tax rates will be adjusted downwards to reflect the increase in the role. “I figure out what I call my equilibrium rate, which gets me back to an equivalent income value for the community,” she states.
It is certain that our tax rates will be reduced by around 30% to mitigate the impact of the increase in assessments, she clarified. Ariane Tremblay warns that there will still be some variations in taxation, but these will be due to the normal increase planned in the 2024 budget.
Since it is the average of the increases for a given property, there will also be some inequalities. Those with higher or lower tax rate increases will have higher or lower tax rate increases, respectively.
Residents will have to wait until December to hear about the tax revision, when the budget is presented.