Pre-Roll Consultation Period is underway

Commercial property owners are invited to review their 2023 preliminary assessment values during The City of Calgary’s Pre-Roll Consultation Period (Pre-Roll). (File photo: All Bong/Unsplash)

Commercial property owners are invited to review their 2023 preliminary assessment values during The City of Calgary’s Pre-Roll Consultation Period (Pre-Roll). From Oct. 3 to Nov. 4, non-residential and multi-residential property owners can review their preliminary 2023 assessment values, which are based on market values as of July 1, 2022, before property values are finalized, and assessment notices are mailed in January.

“Pre-Roll is an integral part of our commitment to continuously improve customer service and increase transparency in Assessment & Tax,” says Eddie Lee, City Assessor and Director of Assessment & Tax. “Non-residential and multi-residential property owners are invited to participate, by reviewing their preliminary 2023 property assessment value, sharing new information about your property, and learning what the potential tax implications may be before these values are finalized. For residential property owners we offer the Customer Review Period which starts with the assessment notice mailing in January.”

A Pre-Roll symposium will be held online on Oct. 4 to offer participants real-time opportunities to learn about the real estate market trends and data that may have impacted their assessments. During these sessions, we will share how market changes may impact 2023 property assessment values for industrial, office, retail, land & specialized property, and multi-residential property types.

From Assessment & Tax’s preliminary market value real estate analysis our findings are as follows:

Non-residential properties continue to show steady resilient growth.

• Retail properties are anticipated to increase in value with growing investments and property sales over the past year.
• Industrial property values are anticipated to vary between stability and increases, with mega warehouses and newer constructed properties increasing, while other industrial properties remain stable.
• Overall, the office market is showing signs of a turnaround with an expected slight increase in values. AA class downtown office space will see significant gains however, lower quality offices continue to experience high vacancy and will see a decrease in values.
• Hotel and motel market value assessments will see a slight increase as we begin to see the recovery from the pandemic. Early 2022 market activity has become much stronger and if this continues, we anticipate higher values in 2024, renewing optimism for this property type.

For residential properties, what we are noting is:

• All residential markets are anticipated to increase in value.
• Single detached homes in suburban communities are expected to lead the way, followed by townhouse and apartment condos.
• Investment multi-residential properties are also expected to moderately increase in value.

While The City is noting these trends, assessment values may change as property owners and agents begin to exchange important and specific real estate market findings with us. We will work with owners and agents to validate real estate data before mailing the 2023 assessment notices in January.

“It’s worth noting that increases or decreases in the total value of Calgary property assessments will not lead to increases or decreases in The City’s overall tax revenues collected,” notes Lee. “That’s because the reassessment process is revenue neutral, meaning that no more and no less taxes is collected as a result of new assessments. However, each property owner’s individual tax share may change as a result of the reassessment. To help property owners understand these changes we offer a tax calculator.”

An important aspect of Pre-Roll is to provide commercial property owners and agents with preliminary tax information. The City offers a preliminary tax calculator on Assessment Search and on calgary.ca/prerollcalculator to help taxpayers understand their tax obligations as early in the process as possible. Pre-roll provides taxpayers, as well as Council, valuable tax planning information prior to the budgetary process.

Calgary property owners’ next opportunity to check, review and compare their home and commercial property values will start on Jan. 4, 2023, when The City delivers the 2023 property assessment notices and the 2023 Customer Review Period begins.

To learn more about The City’s property assessment processes, visit calgary.ca/assessment.