TORONTO — Ontario homeowners can expect the value of their property to have risen an average of 18 per cent when they get their new assessments.
Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation started mailing out notices Tuesday for the first time since 2012, in the Barrie, Brockville and Cornwall areas.
MPAC does the assessments every four years, and says notices for the rest of the province will be sent out over the coming weeks, showing values rose an average of 4.5 per cent in each of the past four years.
If property owners think they could have sold their home for its assessed value on Jan. 1, 2016, then their assessment is accurate.
If not, people should contact MPAC, which says it is "committed to working with them to get it right."
The assessed value from MPAC is used by your local municipality with its mill rate to determine your property taxes.
"MPAC looks at sales and compares properties to similar properties that have been sold in a particular area," said vice-president Rose McLean.
"Assessments reflect the local real estate market, and most property owners have seen the value of their home increase over the last four years."