How I Price Real Estate on Cortes Island: A 3-Part Series
Pricing property on Cortes Island isn’t about plug-and-play formulas—it’s about nuance, timing, and deep local knowledge. In this three-part series, I walk you through my unique approach: starting with how I use the assessed-to-sale price ratio as a baseline (Part 1), how I identify true comparables in a market where no two properties are alike (Part 2), and how strategy, timing, and buyer psychology come together to shape outcomes (Part 3). Whether you’re thinking about selling or simply curious about your property’s value, this series offers a transparent look into the thoughtful pricing process I use with every client.
Hope you enjoy this educational article!
Pricing Real Estate on Cortes Island – Part 1: Understanding the Assessed Value Multiplier
When pricing property on Cortes Island, I take a layered and strategic approach—balancing data, local insight, and market psychology. This is Part 1 of a three-part series where I’ll walk you through how I price homes with accuracy and integrity in a market that is often low-volume and highly variable.
One of the foundational tools I use is the relationship between BC Assessment values and actual sale prices. Currently, properties on Cortes Island are selling at an average of 1.04 times their assessed value. That means homes are typically selling about 4% above their official BC Assessment value.
While the assessment isn’t perfect—it’s based on a mass appraisal system and sometimes lags real-time market changes—it offers a consistent reference point, especially when direct comparables are limited. I don’t treat the number as a static entity. Instead, I use it as a baseline, and then apply adjustments based on how accurate I believe that assessed value is in relation to the real-world condition and context of the property.
For example, I may add to the assessed building value if it’s clearly undervalued—this often happens when a home has been significantly renovated or maintained to a high standard, but the assessment hasn’t caught up. Conversely, I may reduce the land value if it appears inflated due to a prior sale that was unrepresentative of current market trends—something that happens more often in small, seasonal markets like ours where a single high sale can skew the numbers for years.
This approach—anchored in the assessed-to-sale price ratio—helps me quickly identify whether a property is realistically priced, overreaching, or potentially undervalued. It also offers a reference point that resonates with both buyers and appraisers, which is especially important in a market where intuition often plays a larger role than data.
By working from this baseline and layering in other factors like improvements, zoning, access, and comparables, I help clients price strategically—striking the balance between attracting offers and maximizing value.
In Part 2, I’ll break down how I evaluate true comparables in a market where no two properties are the same, and how I account for condition, location, and land use potential in setting price.
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Jeramie Ellingsen
Real Estate Advisor | Discovery Islands & Coastal BC
