Taylor sees greatest increase in property values in 2026 assessment
BC Assessment releases 2026 Property Assessments
FORT ST. JOHN - Property values are up across the board – only two communities didn’t see an increase in property values – in the North Central region of British Columbia, according to information released by BC Assessment last week.
The North Central region covers approximately 70 percent of the province from Clinton to the Yukon border, from the Alberta border to Bella Coola and Haida Gwaii, encompassing about 250,000 properties. Of those, 6.64 percent are farm properties.
The assessed value of properties in the region increased by between 1 percent and 18 percent, except for Tumbler Ridge, which decreased 2 percent, and the District of 100 Mile House, District of Stewart, and strata properties in Smithers which remained the same as 2025.
“The North Central real estate market remains stable, which is being reflected in the 2026 property assessments,” said Jarret Krantz, BC Assessment Deputy Assessor in a statement.
Property assessments provide a foundation for municipal and provincial taxation. Th revenue from property taxes based on these assessments is used by governments to provide funding for services in their communities, from schools to facilities like the North Peace Leisure Pool.
BC Assessment reports that overall, total assessments in the North Central region increased from $99.8 billion in 2025, to approximately $104.7 billion this year. A total of $1 billion of these assessments is from new construction, subdivisions and rezoning properties.
In the North Peace, property values increased by 2 percent in Fort St. John, from a typical assessed value of $345,000 in 2025 to $352,000; in Hudson’s Hope by 3 percent, from $198,000 to $204,000; in Northern Rockies Regional Municipality by 2 percent, from $149,000 in 2025 to $151,000; and Taylor, which saw the greatest increase in the entire Peace Region, the typical assessed values increased by 17 percent from $220,000 in 2025 to $257,000 this year.
The assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value on July 1, 2025, and physical condition on October 31, 2025.
Changes in property assessments reflect the local real estate market and can vary greatly from one property to another. When determining a property’s market value, the professional appraisers at BC Assessment analyse current sales in the area, and consider other characteristics like size, age, quality, condition, view and location.
The BC Assessment website has a listing of all property assessments, along with tools such as recent sales in the area to help property owners to understand their property’s market value. Simply type in your address in the space provided to see your assessment.
Most property owners in BC, approximately 98 percent, accept their property assessment. In the North Central region, that acceptance rate rises to 99.3 percent.
However, if owners feel that their property has been incorrectly assessed, there are avenues to appeal the assessment.
Appeals must be filed by February 2, 2026. The deadline is normally January 31, but as that falls on a weekend, property owners have an additional two days to file.
BC Assessment’s website lays out the process to appeal your assessment. They urge property owners to review your assessment and sales of similar properties to ensure the assessment is accurate. Before submitting an official Notice of Complaint (Appeal), contact BC Assessment at 1-866-825-8322 or electronically through the Contact Us link on the website.
Many concerns can be resolved this way, without a formal complaint and appeal. But if you are not satisfied after speaking with BC Assessment’s staff, you can file your complaint to the Property Assessment Review Panel, by February 2, 2026.
The second level of appeal, after PARP is the Property Assessment Appeal Board. The deadline to file an appeal to the PAAB is April 30.