In a real estate market with the highest property transfer taxes in Canada, where it takes 20 years to save for a down payment, Vancouverites need to take wins where they can find them.
Better news comes in the form of a new study by real estate website Zoocasa, which surveyed 25 major Canadian cities and found that Vancouverites pay the lowest property tax rate in the country.
Vancouver property taxes are 0.24683 per cent of assessed value, which is less than half that of the second-lowest city, Abbotsford, which has a rate of 0.51300 per cent.
Zoocasa found the four cities with the lowest property tax rates were all in B.C., with Victoria at 0.52035 per cent and Kelowna at 0.52605 per cent. No other B.C. municipalities were included in the study.
However, as Zoocasa pointed out, “Living in a region with a low tax rate doesn’t necessarily translate to less tax paid, if average home prices are higher.”