Almost a quarter of reviews result in lowered property values

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About one in every four requests for review filed with the province is resulting in lowered property assessments through the province’s appeal process.

Service New Brunswick Minister Mary Wilson revealed this information under questioning before the legislature’s estimates committee Friday.

A request for review is the first level of property assessment appeal in New Brunswick. Every property owner is entitled to file a request, but not every request results in a formal review. If a request proceeds to that stage, an assessor will do a “final review” of the assessment and issue a decision.

About 23 per cent of assessments appealed at this level have resulted in property value reductions in “recent years,” Wilson said. She noted that figure was 63 per cent in “previous years,” but she didn’t provide an explanation to committee behind the change nor specify the exact years in question.

Tracadie-Sheila Liberal MLA Keith Chiasson questioned the request for review process in light of the “very low” success rate for applicants.

“My concern is how much time do we allocate to every single appeal request, especially if the numbers – or the percentages of that being overturned – are very low,” said Chiasson, who is also the Liberals’ Service New Brunswick critic.

Chiasson asked if assessors examine the properties in person as part of these reviews.

In some cases, Wilson said a review will require an on-site inspection “depending on the information the assessor has on that property.”

“Every request for review is reviewed for accuracy,” she said. “We do this in a timely manner. You are correct – it is a very time-consuming process, but it is a legislated process.”

A property owner has up to 21 days after receiving a review decision to take the matter to the Assessment and Planning Appeal Board. If unsatisfied with that board’s decision, an application for a judicial review can be filed with the Court of King’s Bench.

Almost 10,000 requests under ‘final review’

About 9,900 requests filed for the 2024 taxation year have proceeded to a “final review” by a Service New Brunswick assessor, Wilson told committee.

That’s the largest number of requests the Crown corporation has received in a single year since the 2017 property tax scandal.

Wilson cited the growth in real estate market values in the province, like in other jurisdictions, for the rise in requests.

“We are in line with other jurisdictions (on the number of appeals),” Wilson said. “We work with research institutions and industry experts to perform jurisdictional scans.”

No additional staff have been hired to process the influx of requests for review, Wilson said. However, Service New Brunswick has funding in its 2024-25 budget to add 10 more assessors to its current complement of 91 assessors for the province, she added.

“Our staff continue to work diligently to process those requests and we anticipate to have the reviews completed – for most parts of the province – in May.”

New Brunswick’s overall assessment base – the total value of assessed properties in the province – grew to $89.4 billion this year, representing an increase of $8.4 billion, or 10.4 per cent, over 2023.

About 43 per cent of New Brunswick’s 479,000 properties saw greater than a 10 per cent increase in their assessed values, but 86 per cent of those properties will be capped at a 10 per cent increase for taxation purposes this year through the province’s spike protection program.

New Brunswick property assessments are largely based on market value, meaning the price a property could fetch on the open real estate market. Other factors, like recent renovations and the condition of the house or building, can also impact a property’s assessed value.