New rating valuations on the way for South Wairarapa
South Wairarapa property owners will soon receive new three-yearly rating valuations in the post.
Updated values have been prepared for all 7,526 properties in the district by independent valuers Quotable Value (QV), reflecting the likely price a property would have sold for on 1 September 2023, not including chattels.
Since the district’s last revaluation in 2020, the value of residential housing has increased by an average of 14.2%. The average house value is now at $750,000, while the corresponding average land value has increased by 24.6% to a new average of $360,000.
QV Lead Valuer Blake Ngarimu said the last three years had been “full of ups and downs” for the local property market, with record-low interest rates helping to drive significant value growth in 2021, before experiencing a long period of decline throughout all of 2022 and until the end of May 2023.
“Much like the rest of Aotearoa, South Wairarapa experienced significant value growth throughout 2021, peaking with an average value just shy of $1,000,000 – representing a 50% increase on our 2020 revaluation,” Mr Ngarimu said.
“Though property values have softened over the past 18 months or so due to increased interest rates, they’re still above where they were at the 2020 revaluation. The market stabilised three months prior to the revaluation date of 1 September 2023, with no subsequent value declines being recorded, and even a small amount of growth following the effective revaluation date.”
The average capital value of an improved lifestyle property has increased by 20% to $1,025,000, while the corresponding land value for a lifestyle property increased by almost 17% to $510,000.
Commercial property values have also increased by 27.4% and property values in the industrial sector have increased by 38.8% since the district’s last rating valuation in 2020. Commercial and industrial land values have also increased by 41.2% and 45.1% respectively.
“The strongest commercial growth was in Greytown, which experienced an average value growth of 30%, largely driven by being a tourist hotspot coupled with its low vacancy rate and being a popular services town for local residents,” said Mr Ngarimu.
Forestry and horticulture continue to dominate the local rural sector, with a 36.7% increase in capital values for the former and a 35.4% increase for the latter.
“The rural market was very buoyant through 2020, 2021 and peaking mid 2022 on the back of strong demand for land for forestry conversion. From early 2023, however, rural markets have been subdued, with pressures from new forestry regulations, commodity prices and rising interest rates. This has resulted in a rapid decline in farm values through 2023, especially for pastoral properties that were previously sought after for forestry conversion. However, there has still been some market movements observed from the 2020 levels, driven by the earlier demand forestry conversion of suitable pastoral holdings from both corporate and private investors.”
The total rateable value for the district is now $8.11 billion, with the land value of those properties now valued at $5 billion.
Residential housing value changes since 2020 revaluation levels:
What are rating valuations?
Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils set rates for the following three-year period. They are not intended to be used for any other purpose, including 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 September 2023, and do not include chattels. Any changes in the market since that time will not be included in the new rating valuations, which often means that a sale price achieved today will be different to the new rating valuation.
Rating valuations are calculated using a highly complex and detailed process that utilises all relevant property sales from your area. A large number of properties will also be physically assessed, particularly those that have been 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 are available online now at QV.co.nz, with notices due to be posted out from 24 April. If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have a right to object through the objection process before 31 May 2024.
