Report shows 8.3% property value increase in Steinbach over three years

From April 1, 2018 to April 1, 2021, properties in Steinbach went up in value by an average of 8.3 percent.  

Assessor Roger Storoschuk presented the Steinbach 2023 reassessment impact study to City Council Tuesday evening. He says normally they conduct a reassessment every other year, however, this most recent round was pushed back one year so that the effects of COVID-19 could be monitored.  

Storoschuk says the previous reassessment saw property values increase by 3.4 percent over two years or 1.7 percent per year. By comparison, this current reassessment shows an average property value increase of 8.3 percent over three years or 2.76 percent per year.

This chart shows average increases in all categories

A property going up in value does not necessarily mean the owner will pay more taxes. Storoschuk says property assessment simply provides the basis for distributing taxes among property owners. 

"If the budget were to stay the same what is interesting, and it is not all that common, is partly because of growth, and partly the narrow change in assessment across property classes would actually see a negative shift in all property tax groups." 

Storoschuk this is because some properties went up in value quite a bit more than the 8.3 percent average and will be taking on a greater portion of the tax load in 2023. 

Put simply, Storoschuk notes "Properties with an assessment increase of less than 8.3 percent would typically see a tax decrease. Properties with an increase greater than 8.3 percent would see a tax increase. I can't reiterate enough, on the basis that the budget doesn't change from 2022 to 2023." 

Interestingly, Storoschuk says no one category sky-rocketed, but rather a few properties within each category grew in value more than the rest. He says if Steinbach's budget for 2023 is identical to 2022, the owners of 1,503 properties would see a tax increase, while 4,792 would see a decrease. 

Mayor Earl Funk says this reassessment report gives council a lot of confidence. 

"We are basically, across the board with all of the different properties, we are between 3 and 9 percent assessment increase, that is solid. There is not a lot of fluctuation there. We aren't at 40 percent for one and 5 percent for another, it shows solid, continuous growth, that will help your city become successful." 

On the whole, Steinbach trailed the Province of Manitoba which saw a 10 percent increase in property values.