Q1 2025

In this edition of Industry Insights:

Important updates

Assessment Information Request Program: 2025 campaigns
MPAC Welcomes John Sheppard to the Valuation & Assessment Standards team

MPAC insights

Ontario sees another record increase in the value of property inventory with over $42.7 billion in new assessment

PROfessional highlight

John Sheppard

Industry partnerships

International Property Tax Institute white paper: “Future Proofing the Valuation Workforce”

MPAC in motion

Embracing Innovation – Impact on Valuation Professionals
Making connections with golf course owners

Important updates

Assessment Information Request Program: 2025 campaigns

image of 2025 Assessment Information Request Program

Our annual Assessment Information Request Program, where MPAC requests property-specific information as part of our role to establish and maintain assessments for every property in Ontario, is now underway.

Earlier this year we completed our campaign to collect information for pipelines, and our grain elevator campaign is currently open. The deadline to submit information as part of this campaign is April 28. This year, grain elevator property owners who submit their information through our Assessment Information Request portal in AboutMyProperty™ will notice several enhancements, including a simplified navigation and user-friendly interface.

Looking ahead, MPAC’s largest annual information request campaign for more than 35,000 income-producing properties, the Property Income and Expense Return, launches in May. The financial and operating expense information we collect supports our work to maintain accurate property information, deliver quality assessments and better understand ongoing changes in Ontario’s property landscape. Property owners have an important role to play in providing the information requested by MPAC, which is a requirement of the Assessment Act.

Stay tuned for a special edition of our Industry Insight newsletter to learn more about improvements to AboutMyProperty™, which will help property owners submit their information for the Property Income and Expense Return.

Learn more about assessment information requests.

MPAC welcomes John Sheppard to the Valuation & Assessment Standards team

In November, John Sheppard joined MPAC’s Valuation and Assessment Standards department as the Director of Valuation, Research and Advisory Services (Cost). John brings a wealth of experience in real estate valuation, capital planning and real estate management. His academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the Royal Military College of Canada and several respected qualifications: a Post Graduate Certificate in Real Property Valuation from the University of British Columbia, Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation, and AACI designation from the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

In his role, John is responsible for providing strategic valuation and planning expertise for property portfolios under the cost valuation approach, including general commercial, industrial, farm, large and special purpose, regulated and exempt properties. Learn more about John in the PROfessional highlight section below.

MPAC insights

Ontario sees another record increase in the value of property inventory with over $42.7 billion in new assessment

Ontario's property inventory reached a new milestone with over $42.7 billion in new assessments in 2024. This growth includes both new construction and improvements to existing properties. Residential homes, including condominiums, accounted for nearly $31 billion of this increase, while commercial and industrial properties contributed more than $5.7 billion.

The total assessed value of Ontario’s nearly 5.7 million properties is now estimated to be approximately $3.2 trillion, based on January 1, 2016, assessed values. The additional assessment is included in the annual assessment rolls delivered to Ontario’s 444 municipalities.

“Non-residential sectors, including multi-residential, hospitality, commercial and industrial properties, accounted for nearly 30% of all new assessment captured, highlighting the change in communities across Ontario from ongoing construction and renovation projects throughout the year,” says Greg Martino, Vice President and Chief Valuation and Standards Officer.

To learn more about the growth of various property sectors across Ontario, read our news release and check out our 2024 Roll Return Fact Sheet.

PROfessional highlight: John Sheppard

We caught up with John Sheppard, MPAC’s new Director of Valuation, Research & Advisory Services (Cost), to learn more about his new role and the expertise he is bringing to the Valuation and Assessment Services team.

Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

I have over 20 years of experience working in the industry. Recently, I worked with a large multinational professional services firm in Toronto, where I led the national real estate valuation team which was responsible for the valuation of diverse asset classes, supporting key Canadian real estate and business transactions, developing real estate strategies and managing client relationships.

What are you looking forward to in your new role?

I look forward to continue advancing MPAC’s efforts and to explore new ways to engaging and collaborating with industry stakeholders to support our mandate of delivering quality, transparent and impartial assessments.

Industry partnerships

Future Proofing the Valuation Workforce

photo of MPAC employees in an office space

In 2024, the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI) published a paper, titled, “Future Proofing the Valuation Workforce.” This paper was developed through a collaboration project involving assessment jurisdictions from around the world, and looks at a variety of issues including how to attract, recruit develop and retain staff in an ever-evolving industry. It contains a series of recommendations aimed at assisting valuation agencies as they work to improve their performance in key aspects of their operations.

“Finding opportunities to share best practices and collaborate with other public sector assessment jurisdictions is so important and we thank IPTI for the opportunity,” said Greg Martino.

Read the paper to learn more.

MPAC in motion

MPAC representatives attended a variety of events and conferences recently, where we had the opportunity to connect with attendees and learn what matters most to Ontarians.

Embracing Innovation – Impact on Valuation Professionals

During this year’s Institute of Municipal Assessors (IMA) and the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI) Virtual Symposium, MPAC had the opportunity to participate in two exciting sessions focused on global innovation and its impact on the valuation industry.

As technology advances at an increasing pace, the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) has gained significant attention. Shelley Graham, Director, Valuation, Research & Advisory Services (Income), provided an assessment agency’s perspective at the conference. Discussions focused on what AI is, where it is headed, and how the property valuation industry can fully utilize its capabilities.

Brian Guerin, Director, Assessment Standards and Mass Appraisal, hosted a session where he shared MPAC’s journey of utilizing machine learning to modernize the mass appraisal process.

“We’ve made great strides in both explaining machine learning and exploring how it can help us modernize and streamline our traditional mass appraisal processes for greater efficiency,” said Brian.

Making connections with golf course owners

This month, we are connecting with the golf course industry at the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) Spring Warm Up sessions. We thank the NGCOA for the opportunity to meet with their members to share more about assessment and exciting changes to the upcoming Property Income and Expense Return campaign later this year.

Pictured from left to right: Matt Sulek, Kevin Aguiar & Halyi Masciotra at the NGCOA Spring Warm Up, London Hunt Club

Working with industry partners

MPAC is committed to working with industry partners across the province. If you want more information about MPAC and how we work with industry partners, please contact us at industry@mpac.ca. We look forward to learning more about opportunities to connect in 2025.

mpac.ca