New Gore rating valuations reveal steady home values, softer land values
New Gore rating valuations reveal steady home values, softer land values
Gore property owners will soon receive new three-yearly rating valuations by post.
The new rating valuations have been prepared for 6,993 properties on behalf of Gore District Council by Quotable Value (QV). They reflect the likely price a property would have sold for on 1 July 2025, excluding household chattels, plant and machinery.
They show the total rateable value for the district is now $5.59 billion, up 2.8%, with the land value of those properties now $2.88 billion, up 0.4%. While these averages indicate a steady market through the past three years, each property sub-market has fluctuated and behaved differently with a range of economic factors.
QV lead valuer for Gore District, Brendan Tancredi, said the headline numbers tell only part of the story. "On the surface the district looks relatively steady, but when you drill into the different sectors there’s been quite a bit of variation – especially between residential, lifestyle and the rural sector."
Residential
"Gore’s relative affordability has insulated the housing market from the greater declines we’ve seen in many of Aotearoa New Zealand’s other main centres," Mr Tancredi said. "In mid-2023, the market began a slow upswing as interest rates fell and since then Gore home values have increased on average by between 10-15%.”
Within the residential market, tidy entry-level homes have performed well with first-home buyers and investors particularly active. Modern homes have also remained strong given high building costs. "Where we’ve seen values come back more is with larger, older family homes," Mr Tancredi said. "Typical owner-occupiers in this segment are more hamstrung by higher interest rates on existing fixed-term mortgages, making it harder for them to buy and sell."
Mataura has seen a flat market over the past three years with a higher proportion of poor-condition dwellings. These dwellings haven’t held their value as well, as renovation costs are high. The townships of Mandeville, Pukerau and Waikaka have seen modest growth, although coming from low values, percentage increases on some properties are high. "Some of the smaller townships are starting from a low home value base, so even modest dollar gains can show up as quite high percentage increases," Mr Tancredi said.
Commercial and Industrial
Commercial and industrial properties comprise 9.4% of the district’s value with several high-value agricultural processing plants. Commercial average value growth was 9.6% and industrial 14.3%.
"Investor demand within Gore is showing a clear preference for quality, well-located property with strong leases in place," Mr Tancredi said. "On the industrial side, the market tends to be dominated by owner-occupiers whose confidence has improved on the back of strengthening rural markets."
Lifestyle
Lifestyle properties comprise 10.0% of the district’s value and have seen average growth of 4.6%. Unlike other property types, lifestyle properties have remained relatively steady since mid-2022 with slow growth since mid-2023. “As with residential, well-presented entry-level properties have performed best, modern properties remain strong due to high building costs, while older mid-upper-priced properties are more difficult to sell,” said Mr Tancredi.
The vacant lifestyle market is presently subdued with supply far outstripping the limited demand. Average land value growth is 6.2%, which is slightly back on late-2024 sales. "There’s currently an oversupply of vacant lifestyle blocks, so values have come back slightly from where they were this time last year," he said.
Pastoral
Pastoral properties comprise 26.8% of the district’s value and have seen an average decline of 8.7%. The sector has faced successive difficult seasons since 2022, with elevated farm and finance costs, ongoing compliance pressures, and commodity price uncertainty.
Sheep farmers have been particularly affected by low sheepmeat prices, while cropping, beef and dairy support operations have been steadier. Harder hill country properties have also been impacted by the loss of tree-planting options, which had previously underpinned land values.
"It’s been a tough few years for many sheep and beef farmers in particular," Mr Tancredi said.
"Higher costs, more compliance, and weaker pricing have all put pressure on land values, especially for properties limited to sheep-based systems."
Sales through this period show farm values falling 5–20% on average, with the largest declines on properties physically restricted to sheep-based systems by contour, climate and/or soil type. More versatile farms able to adjust stock or crop types to meet commodity prices have seen smaller decreases of around 5%.
Commodity prices are currently elevated, and rural confidence is recovering, but this has yet to translate into higher farm values. Many farmers remain cautious given ongoing volatility and are focused on recouping recent seasons’ losses.
"While commodity prices have lifted recently and confidence is improving, most farmers are still focused on restoring their balance sheets rather than paying more for land," Mr Tancredi said.
Dairy
Dairy properties comprise 10.9% of the district’s value and have seen average value growth of 0.9%. Compared to the pastoral market, the dairy industry has seen stronger and steadier commodity prices and has continued to attract family and corporate purchasers alike. Dairy confidence is particularly high at present with the special dividend to be received in 2026 following the sale of Fonterra’s consumer brands.
"Dairy has held up better than the wider pastoral sector, supported by more consistent returns and strong interest from both family and corporate buyers," Mr Tancredi said.
What are rating valuations?
Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils assess rates for the following three-year period. They are not intended for other purposes, such as raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.
They reflect the likely selling price of a property at the effective revaluation date, which was 1 July 2025, excluding the value of household chattels, plant and machinery. Any market changes since that time will not be included in the new rating valuations, which often means a sale price achieved today will be different from the new rating valuation.
Rating valuations are calculated using a detailed process that uses all relevant property sales in the area. A large number of properties will also be physically assessed, particularly those issued building consents in the last three years.
The updated rating valuations are then independently audited by the Office of the Valuer General to ensure they meet rigorous quality standards, before the new rating valuations are confirmed and posted to property owners.
New rating values will be posted to property owners after 10 December 2025. If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they may object by 30 January 2026.
