VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has dropped its threshold for its homeowner grant program for the first time in six years as assessed values for homes fall in the province’s Lower Mainland.

BC Assessment says homeowners in B.C.’s most concentrated population centre in and around Metro Vancouver can expect a decrease of up to 10 per cent for their home’s assessed value, reflecting valuation as of July 1 last year.

Along with the new assessments, the B.C. Ministry of Finance has announced the threshold for the B.C. homeowner grant has been set at $2.075 million this year, down about 4.6 per cent from $2.175 million last year.

It’s the first time the threshold for the program, aimed at providing property tax relief for some homeowners, has dropped since 2020 when home prices last moderated across B.C.

BC Assessment says homes in other regions saw more stable assessed values, with Vancouver Island and the Southern Interior seeing valuations swinging from five-per-cent increases to five-per-cent decreases.

The North and the Kootenays, meanwhile, saw changes in valuations between 15-per-cent increases and five-per-cent decreases.

“The softening housing market is being reflected in 2026 property assessments,” says Bryan Murao with BC Assessment in a statement about the Lower Mainland’s lower assessed values.

The agency says about 1.14 million properties were assessed in the Lower Mainland, and total assessment values for the region fell to $1.92 trillion for 2026 versus last year’s values at about $2.01 trillion.

The sharpest drop in the region was in White Rock, where average single-family home values fell nine per cent to $1.58 million while the University Endowment Lands, Richmond and Langley all saw eight per cent drops.

Single-family home values only rose in four communities in the Lower Mainland: Anmore with a four per cent increase, Harrison Hot Springs rising three per cent, Squamish two per cent and Pemberton one per cent.

The B.C. homeowner grant threshold had been steadily increasing from $1.525 million to the high point of $2.175 million last year before this year’s drop.

The ministry says owners of properties valued above the threshold may still qualify for a partial grant due to the program’s gradual phaseout process.

Homeowners with a dependent child, above the age of 55, widowed or with disabilities can also qualify for other forms of relief such as the B.C. property tax deferment program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2026.

The Canadian Press