|
[ Home > Regional
Profile > Real Estate ]
Real
Estate
Real Estate
The North Okanagan offers businesses and individuals a variety
of available and very affordable real estate options. The North
Okanagan region has prime residential housing and
serviced commercial space available.
Across the North Okanagan, the
average house price in November 2004 was $215,000. In the North Okanagan
there is an increase in new housing starts as a direct result
of the low interest rates and population growth. According to the Western Investor in
November 2004, there appears to be no end of the building boom
in sight, making this region an attractive option for relocating
employees, recruiting expertise and locating corporate management.
Click here to view a Statistics
Canada census of occupied private dwellings.
| AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL COSTS (
January 2004) |
| Single-Family
Residence |
$178,873 |
| Townhouses |
$114,160 |
| Condominiums |
$97,519 |
Source: Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board
For Information on available residential real estate contact the
Okanagan Mainline Real Estate
Board.
[ Back to Top ]
Property Taxation
Property taxation rates are based on regulations covered by the
provincial Municipal Act. The BC Assessment Authority provides
the assessment on real property for taxation purposes. Annual
property taxes cover the period January 1 to December 31.
BC Assessment
Authority
2820 28th
St.
Vernon, BC
Ph: (250) 545-2171
Fax:
(250) 545-5603
Toll
free: 1-800-990-1191
Homeowners can claim a provincial Home
Owner Grant for the residence they reside in if they meet
the following criteria:
- must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and a permanent
resident of British Columbia;
- must be living in the house at the time the grant is claimed;
- must be shown on the title as registered owner.
The grant can reduce taxes by as much as $470 but cannot reduce
taxes below $350.
Property tax rates are either quoted as an average rate between
land and improvements or have distinct separate rates. In the
case of separate rate, the land mill rate applies only to the
value of the land and the improvements only to the assessed value
of the improvements/structures. Where the rates have been averaged
please be advised that the rates can vary slightly, since they
are dependent on the relative mix of land and improvements.
For more detailed information on property taxes, please contact
the Tax Department of the various municipalities: Vernon, Coldstream, Armstrong, Enderby,
Lumby, Spallumcheen.
[ Back to Top ]
Commercial Leasing (1999)
The North Okanagan leasing projections indicate that the North
Okanagan will offer exceptional value on commercial
space for service industries. High vacancy rates and low lease
rates provide optimum conditions for service industries to relocate
to the region and keep overhead costs low.
Commercial leasing of space involves many different factors including
location, type of space, zoning, etc. Due to government downsizing
and private sector efficiencies and rationalization, there is
an abundance of office and commercial service space available
in the North Okanagan. It is
projected that market economies dictate extremely low lease rates
for this space for the next two years, making commercial leasing
a sound business strategy for businesses entering the Region.
For information on commercial leasing contact Royal LePage - Downtown
Reality at (250) 545-5371
[ Back to Top ]
Industrial Land
Light industrial land is available for production industries depending
on particular needs of a business.
Industrial real estate is available in limited quantities in the
North Okanagan. Unserviced properties are available
in several parcels throughout the region at an average cost of
$80,000 - $100,000 per acre. Serviced industrial property is available
in limited quantity in Vernon, Spallumcheen Industrial Park (15
kms/10 miles north of Vernon), and in Lumby Industrial Park (24
kms/18 miles east of Vernon) at an additional cost of approximately
$50,000 per acre.
The Spallumcheen
Industrial Park
is an area of 320 acres. This industrial park is mainly flat with
some moderately sloping areas. The site is serviced with electricity
from BC Hydro, natural gas from Teresen Gas and water from the
Township of Spallumcheen.
A full listing of industrial land available in the North
Okanagan is located in a database attached to this
web site's home page. Using Microsoft Access, view
the database and query for the specific requirements of your company.
For information on Industrial
Land availability
please review the Industrial Land Database located on this website.
[ Back to Top ]
Building
In 2004 (January to November), there were 1,221 sales of land/housing/facilities
for a total of $246,982,880 (Cdn). For the first nine months of 2004 there
were 347 housing starts – a 40% increase from the same period
in 2003. Building
Permits totaled $199,378,000 (Cdn).
Click here to see more information
on building permits.
[ Back to Top ]
|
