The average home in Windsor: what does that really mean?

Windsor's proposed budget documents are available to the public, with two dates set to discuss its contents. Deliberations will be held on April 1 and 2 and public input is welcome.

One of the topics sure to bring heated debate is the city's assessment of a $90 a year property tax increase on the average home in Windsor.

The city's documents use an average assessed value of a home of $150,000. Multiple comments on CBC Windsor's last story referred to the average of $150,000 as a joke, including one commentor who said that would only be a "shanty."

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation uses $164,000 as the average assessed value in Windsor. MPAC updates their assessment values every four years. The last update was in 2016. 

"MPAC looks at sales and compares properties to similar properties that have sold in a particular area," Paula Chung, media relations for MPAC said in an email. Chung was unable to comment on why the MPAC value differed from what the City of Windsor used for their budget proposal.

Joe Mancina, treasurer for the City of Windsor, said $150,000 was what the city has traditionally used.

"It is easily extrapolated by residents when estimating the potential impacts of any tax changes on their specific properties," said Mancina. "The average assessed value has changed from below to above $150,000 over the years, however the City has remained consistent for ease of calculation, even when the average assessment value was below $150,000."

Assessed value vs. sale price

"The important thing is to understand the assessed value is different from the average sale price," said Rob Benneian, a sales representative with Deerbrook Realty Inc.

According to Benneian, the average sale price in Windsor is $300,000 to $325,000.

"The sale price doesn't necessarily reflect the assessed value," said Benneian, attributing that to a number of factors, including demand. 

"Most people aren't involved in real estate in a day-to-day basis," said Benneian, explaining why many people don't know the difference between assessed value and sale price.

The average home in Windsor

Benneian said the average house in Windsor is a single-story ranch in south Windsor.

"Your typical three bedroom," said Benneian, using Woodland Avenue as his example. "Three bedrooms on the main floor, one bathroom, kitchen, living room, dining room." 

Benneian said those houses are usually assessed at between $150,000 and $165,000, but their sale price is about $325,000.

"That same south Windsor ranch, as little as a few years ago was going for substantially less. If we go back to lets say 2013, the average sale price on one of those would have been $183,000."

According to Benneian, the assessed property values haven't kept up with the market price.

The recommended 2019 budget on a home assessed at $150,000 would result in a $90 increase — $44 for the city and $46 for things outside the city's control.

What do property taxes and assessed home values look like in other parts of Canada?