New rating valuations on the way for Timaru
Property owners in Timaru will soon receive new three-yearly rating valuations in the post.
Updated values have been prepared for all 23,150 properties in the district by independent valuers Quotable Value (QV) on behalf of Timaru District Council. They reflect 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 26%. The average house value is now at $530,000, while the corresponding average land value has increased by 28% to a new average of $244,000.
QV Canterbury Manager Brendon McCurley said it had been a “rollercoaster” last three years for the property market throughout the wider Canterbury region and in New Zealand in general, with record-low interest rates helping to drive significant value growth in 2021, before experiencing a long period of decline throughout 2022 and 2023.
“The Timaru property market has largely bucked this trend, showing solid but more sustainable growth in 2021 and through to mid-2022. Value levels have remained relatively steady from their new peak levels right through to our effective date of valuation of 1 September 2023, as opposed to seeing the same sort of declines that other regions have experienced.”
The average capital value of an improved lifestyle property has increased by 34% to $874,000, while the corresponding land value for a lifestyle property increased by 42% to $407,000.
“Timaru's lifestyle market has seen strong growth since 2020, which is in line with the trends we’re seeing nationally, and the large increases in this market have impacted the market for smaller farming blocks as well,” Mr McCurley added.
Pastoral blocks make up the bulk of the local rural sector, with a 16.7% average increase in capital values, compared to increases of 8.8% for dairy and 35.1% for horticulture.
Meanwhile, commercial property values have increased by 16.2% and property values in the industrial sector have increased by 36.8% since the district’s last rating valuation in 2020. Commercial and industrial land values have also increased by 35.8% and 55.3% respectively.
The total capital value for the district is now $19.5 billion, with the land value of those properties now valued at $9.7 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 assess 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.
If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have a right to object through the objection process before 5 April 2024.
