Owners of residential and commercial property received their assessment notices last week in their mail.

For the most part, property values across the province have declined only modestly over the past year, looking at all regions and property types, but the loss in the Lower Mainland was considerably higher.

Combining all residential properties in the province, the total value was down 2.45%. In the Lower Mainland we saw total values decline 4.7%, with the biggest drops seen in single-family home values in West Vancouver and UBC, both down 16%, followed by Richmond's detached houses, down 14%, and then Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Moody and North Vancouver single-family homes, all down 11%.

With strata, residential properties such as condos and townhomes, the only Lower Mainland area to see a double-digit value decline was West Vancouver, down 10%, with most other areas seeing declines between 4% and 9%.

It is important to understand that changes in property assessments do not automatically translate into a corresponding change in property taxes.

For example, the City of Vancouver has already approved a 7% increase in property taxes this year, which most homeowners will have to pay, even if their home has decreased in value.