Property Tax Paranoia: Is ZooCasa Confused About How Property Tax Works?

TORONTO, Aug. 7, 2019 /CNW/ - Responding to significant news media coverage generated by a recent ZooCasa PR campaign, Toronto REALTOR^® Claude Boiron is concerned about consumer clarity on how property tax assessments actually work. Boiron simply wants to make sure Canadian consumers have the right information when making a real estate buying decision.

Boiron's issue isn't around the quoted property tax rates (which have been challenged by others,) but in the notion that new homeowners will get hit with a 'surging' property tax assessment in the first year after the purchase.

Boiron specifically takes issue with this line (in bold) from the full property tax report on Zoocasa's website:

"…This assessment takes into account a combination of factors about your home such as its lot size, whether it has a basement, and if its condition has been improved with renovations and other structural updates. Whether or not it has any special features, such as a pool, is also taken into consideration, as well as the values of comparable properties in the neighbourhood. 
The latter is especially important for homebuyers in rapidly appreciating neighbourhoods; surging local home prices over a short period of time can lead to a shock when the tax bill is opened the following year."

"In fact, new home buyers will not feel any tax impact from increasing local home prices, until the next scheduled MPAC Assessment Update in 2020, and even then, they won't reflect 2019 increases" said Toronto Real Estate Broker, Author, and University Instructor, Claude Boiron, of the Royal LePage Terrequity Realty - Boiron Group. 

MPAC's assessments are deliberately and carefully phased in to provide stability for homeowners. Homebuyers purchasing in 2019 would, in fact, be paying property taxes based on phased-in values established between 2012 and 2016. Even when MPAC does its next official property assessments in 2020, any increases will be spread out over a four-year period, giving homeowners time to expect and absorb any increases."

"A 'surge' in your property tax bill from the current value of the property or over a short period of time is simply not how property value assessments work, and we think it's important for buyers to understand that," added Boiron.

According to Boiron, homebuyers should always understand the full property tax implications before purchasing a property, but they should also clearly understand when increases in value are due.

"This is where homebuyers can see the difference between dealing with a full-service REALTOR^® or a website … it speaks for itself," added Boiron.

SOURCE The Boiron Group

Patrick McCaully, Pointman News Creation, 416-855-9427 x 301, [email protected], Pointmannc.com