Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Putting a price on cottage life
Biggest assessment increase ever for some
That sound from Lake Winnipeg's cottage country this weekend isn't the call of the wild; it's the sound of jaws hitting the ground as cottagers find out what the province thinks their property is worth.
The highest assessment increase is at Victoria Beach -- its summer residents are seeing an average increase of 93 per cent in the market value of their properties.
It's the biggest assessment increase ever for these cottagers and one that will likely have a big impact on their 2010 tax bills.
"It doesn't surprise me," said longtime summer resident Al Whicker. "We're getting screwed."
"I'm sick," said another 'VBer,' who's owned a cottage since 1974. "It's just such a huge jump. But I guess that's the privilege of owning a summer home."
The average provincewide increase in assessment for single-family residences is 46 per cent, but it's lake country, particularly the south basin of Lake Winnipeg, that's seeing the biggest jump since the last provincial assessment in 2006.
How big is the hike? Take a two-bedroom Victoria Beach cottage in the restricted area -- where no cars are allowed in the summer -- built in the late 1920s, several blocks from the beach. The old assessment, based on 2003 market values, was $88,300 for land and building.
The new assessment is $203,900 for land and cottage -- a number based on what it would have sold for on April 1, 2008. To compare, the total assessment for the same cottage in 1974 was $1,250.
What's driving this increase in assessment? It's due to the wild real estate market in Victoria Beach cottages over the past couple of years.
With roughly only 1,600 cottages -- with the most sought-after in the restricted area -- it's been a sellers' market as buyers fleeing astronomical cottage prices in Alberta and Eastern Canada bid against each other for the few desirable cottages that come up for sale each year.
Driving the rise in cottage real estate prices, too, are baby boomers knocking down older cottages to build retirement homes.
RM of Victoria Beach chief administrative officer Raymond Moreau said the recession hasn't dulled the market; an older cottage recently sold for $175,000 to make way for a new cottage, meaning the lot alone was worth $175,000 to the buyer.
One lakefront lot recently fetched $500,000, he said.
The higher assessments in cottage country likely mean a hefty municipal tax hike starting next year, one that may be phased in.
News about increasing cottage property taxes has mobilized some lakeside residents.
President David Crabb said the Manitoba Association of Cottage Owners is holding a rally at the legislature June 10 to protest the continued use by the province to fund schools through property taxes.
A provincial spokeswoman said the assessments only reflect what's happened in the market and should not be viewed as a tax bill.
She said if cottage owners have questions, they should speak to an assessor in their municipality. Open houses are also being held.
For more information, go to www.gov.mb.ca/assessment
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 30, 2009 A3
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