Burlington, along with the rest of the province, saw a record-breaking increase in the value of property inventory in 2023, with increases in residential and business property.
The assessed value of more than 5.6 million properties in Ontario is now estimated to be approximately $3.14 trillion, according to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
Ontario also added $42 billion in new assessments last year.
An independent, not-for-profit corporation funded by all municipalities, MPAC summarized changes to the annual assessment rolls that were delivered to 444 Ontario municipalities late last year.
Carmelo Lipsi, MPAC vice-president of valuation and customer relations, said Burlington’s new residential assessment is $164 million, compared to $155 million in 2022, and $118 million in 2021.
In Ontario, residential homes, including condominiums, accounted for more than $31 billion, while commercial and industrial properties contributed more than $6 billion, which is an increase of 31.5 per cent from 2022.
The number of new residential condominium units in Ontario increased by 85 per cent from 2022. In Burlington, that figure was $200 million; in 2022, there was only $6 million in new assessment capture for condominium units, while in 2021, that figure was $194 million.
Comparing Halton’s figures in that summary, Oakville led the way with $304 million, while Milton was third with $52 million, followed by Halton Hills with $11 million, for a Halton total of $567 million. The total Halton condo units figure was $145 million in 2022. The province saw an overall increase of 85 per cent.
“It’s not surprising we are seeing that,” Lipsi said. “We anticipate that type of activity will continue for the next few years, with new homes and new businesses being constructed regularly.”
On the commercial and industrial property side, there was 31.5 per cent growth from 2022; Burlington saw its figure drop in business, with $98 million in new assessment, compared to $135 million in 2022 and $65 million in 2021. In Halton, Oakville led the way with $290 million; Milton saw $274 million. Overall, Halton recorded $715 million in new assessments for business properties compared to $479 million in 2022. Provincially that total was $6 billion, up 31.5 per cent from the previous year.
Toronto remains the leading municipality with $9.93 billion in new property value, followed by Ottawa, Vaughan, Oakville and Brampton.
Lipsi said distribution centres constructed in Milton accounted for the increase.
“There was a really healthy amount of residential development and construction that took place in 2023,” said Lipsi, who’s been with MPAC for 30 years. “This really reflects an increase in building permits that increased in 2021. This is the culmination of all that.”
He said MPAC is prepared for the increased residential construction activity, so they can assess new construction as soon as it’s completed.
“The municipality is interested in new assessments for tax activity and we want to do it for homeowners as early as possible,” he said. “As a property owner, you want to know as much as possible.
“Those areas (the usual) with significant growth in their communities are seeing that continuing for the next while,” he said. “But without the crystal ball, for us, our mandate is to ensure anything constructed is quickly assessed.”
Lipsi added that the pandemic changed things dramatically with office and commercial spaces seeing differences due to many employees working from home. In addition, there was a move to online shopping that had already started and the pandemic accelerated that.
Across Ontario, 10 municipalities accounted for more than 44 per cent of new property value. Toronto led the way for another year at $9.93 billion (up from $8.7 billion in 2022) followed by Ottawa at $3.37 billion (down from $4.4 billion), then Vaughan at $1.58 billion (up from $1.1 billion), Oakville at $1.55 billion (up from $1.1 billion), and Brampton at $1.35 billion up from $974 million).
When looking at the growth rates for municipalities with populations less than 15,000, Southwold had the largest overall growth this year ($286.2 million). Blue Mountains followed with $166.7 million, then Muskoka Lakes with $152.3 million, Middlesex Centre with $119.6 million and Carleton Place with $113.4 million.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering accurate assessments,” Lipsi said, noting MPAC employs more than 1,800 people, conducting work to ensure information is up to date. “We look forward to continuing to provide valuable insights for property owners and municipalities on Ontario’s changing property inventory.”
Property assessments for the 2024 property tax year will continue to be based on Jan. 1, 2016 assessed values. This means property assessments remain the same as the 2023 tax year unless changes have been made to the property.
Lipsi recommended property owners go to the MPAC website, especially if they have questions about their assessment. The last assessment was in 2016; generally it’s a four-year cycle.
Each year, the province determines and directs MPAC to conduct reassessments. Last year, there was none.
He recommended people log into the site, where they can find the year their home was built, the assessment of neighbouring properties and similar properties in the community.
“If there are questions of accuracy, you can file a request for reassessment,” he said. “The site is extremely user-friendly, you can file online, no fee, for reconsideration,” he said, but added the deadline is April 2, 2024.
“It’s free, there's a lot of information there and let us know if there is something we need to fix,” he added. “For most, their home is the largest single asset for individuals; it’s important for us to ensure it’s accurate.”
MPAC’s role is to accurately assess and classify all properties in Ontario in compliance with the Assessment Act and regulations set by the Government of Ontario. It’s the largest assessment jurisdiction in North America.
For information, go to MPAC.
