When Surrey and White Rock homeowners receive their assessment packages in the mail this week, BC Assessment says most will find a moderate change in the value of their property.
Examples provided by BC Assessment, designed to demonstrate market trends for single-family residential properties, show a four per cent increase in White Rock, from a typical assessed value of $1,195,000 last year to $1,245,000 this year, and a five per cent increase in Surrey, from $1,010,000 to $1,062,000.
The most expensive home in White Rock, which also ranked 483rd in the province in terms of value, is located at 13616 Marine Dr. Assessed at $10,475,000, the property experienced a slight decrease in value compared to last year, when it was assessed at $10,578,000. While the value of the land increased by $21,000, the buildings on the property decreased in value by $124,000.
The most expensive home in Surrey, located at 2021 Indian Fort Dr. and ranked 76th in the province, was assessed this year at $18,016,000, which is an increase from $17,948,000 last year.
In a Top 500 Valued Residential Properties list published last year, Surrey’s most expensive home, located at 17146 20 Ave., was assessed at $31.6 million.
However, BC Assessment deputy assessor Bryan Murao told Peace Arch News, the property was successful in achieving partial farm classification. The same property is now assessed at $8,174,520.
The only other Surrey home that placed on the top 500 list of most valued residential properties in the province is located at 2165 123 St., which is valued at $13,478,000 and ranked 228th.
In examples provided for strata homes, which includes townhouses and condos, White Rock was the only municipality in the Lower Mainland to experience a slight decrease in value. A typical assessed value of $460,000 in White Rock last year decreased to $452,000 this year, representing a two per cent downward shift.
In Surrey, however, a typical strata home assessment of $497,000 last year climbed to $510,000 this year, representing a three per cent change.
“Despite COVID-19, the Lower Mainland residential real estate market has been resilient,” said Murao. “For the most part, homeowners can expect relatively moderate increases in value. This incredible strength is a stark contrast to last spring when the market came to a temporary standstill, whereas the remainder of the year had a very steady and rapid recovery.”
However, Murao added, commercial and industrial markets have been much more varied with both decreases and increases, depending on the sector.
“While commercial sales activity has remained low, value changes have been moderate across many property types.”
The total number of properties in the province is 2,114,886, an approximate one per cent increase from 2020. In the Lower Mainland, the overall total assessments have increased from about $1.41 trillion in 2020 to about $1.46 trillion this year.
More than $15 billion of the Lower Mainland’s updated assessments comes from new construction, subdivisions and rezoning of properties.
Assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2020 and physical condition as of Oct. 31, 2020. Changes in property assessment reflect movement in the local real estate market and can vary greatly from property to property, BC Assessment said.
When estimating a property’s market value, BC Assessment analyzes current sales in the area as well as considering other characteristics such as size, age, quality, condition, view and location.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
