Joel DyckReal Broker SK Ltd.
Saskatoon · From the topic map

Why did a penthouse that sold for $87 million have a tax value of only $3.8 million?

That gap describes a US market, not a Saskatoon one, but the reason applies everywhere: assessed value and sale price are different measurements on different schedules. The City of Saskatoon sets assessed value from a fixed base date at 80 percent of value, while a sale price reflects one buyer's decision on one day.

A big spread between the two usually means the assessment cycle has not caught up to a fast-moving segment of the market, or that the property carries features, a view, a finish level, a lot assembly, that a mass appraisal model applied across thousands of properties cannot price the way one determined buyer will.

In Saskatoon that shows up on a smaller scale in luxury and acreage sales near the river, where comparable sold data is thin and a City assessment built for typical houses struggles to capture what a single high-end buyer will pay for a specific property. The Board of Revision exists to correct assessment errors, not to explain a sale price.

Joel Dyck prices from actual comparable sales rather than the assessment roll whenever the two clearly disagree. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

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