Property owners beware! If you own a property in BC you will soon be receiving your 2010 assessment notice, and the chances are that residents in Prince George will see a drop in value.

Following BC Assessment's recent annual report on property values, modest decreases in the value of homes in Prince George in the zero to five per cent range are to be expected. And the reason, according to BCA, is the flattening in the market.

Property owners in the downtown core saw the greatest swing with a zero to five per cent increase in value while commercial properties saw a rise of around 4.5 per cent, with light industrial properties registering a decline of 6.5 per cent.

In terms of specific parts of the city, the Lakewood/Heritage/Foothills area experienced the greatest fall in average value, by $16,600, to 219,400; Hart Highlands/North Nechako saw a fall of $8,800, to $215,000; College Heights, a $7,200 fall to $261,100; and the VLA dropped $1,200 to 128,700. Strip commercial property increased in value by $157,744 to $2,485,271.

This year's assessment numbers are one part of the process that determines the city's property taxes. Next, local taxing authorities (the City of Prince George and the province) will set the rate - known as the so-called mill rate - that is applied to a property's assessed value. That will then be issued to an owner as a property tax notice, which is usually sent between May and July.