New rating valuations on the way for Marlborough
Marlborough property owners will soon receive their new three-yearly rating valuations in the post.
Updated values have been prepared for all 27,739 properties in the district by independent valuers Quotable Value (QV) on behalf of Marlborough District Council. They reflect the likely price a property would have sold for on 1 July 2023, excluding chattels. Revaluation notices will be mailed on Wednesday 4 October 2023.
Since the district’s last revaluation in 2020, the value of residential housing has increased by an average of 27%. The average house value is now at $725,000, while the corresponding average land value has increased by 44% to a new average of $374,000.
QV registered valuer Brendon McCurley said it had been a “rollercoaster” last three years 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 2022 and 2023.
“We’ve witnessed a strong increase in residential property value levels overall since our last revaluation in Marlborough in 2020. Though property values have softened over the past 18 months or so, they’re not yet back to their pre-pandemic levels and appear to be levelling out now,” he said.
“Properties at the more affordable end of the ladder have seen the most competition from first-home buyers, who remain the most active group in the market today, and have therefore experienced some of the largest average value increases since 2020.”
The average capital value of an improved lifestyle property has increased by 38% to $1,030,000, while the corresponding land value for a lifestyle property increased by 60% to $605,000.
“Marlborough's lifestyle market has seen strong growth since 2020, maintaining its reputation as a desirable location for those looking to relocate from the main city areas, and with competition from vineyards for land in prime grape growing locations also driving growth,” Mr McCurley added.
Meanwhile, commercial property values have increased by 27% and property values in the industrial sector have increased by 38% since the district’s last rating valuation in 2020. Commercial and industrial land values have also increased by 38% and 59% respectively.
As expected, horticulture has continued to dominate the local rural sector, with strong demand for suitable vineyard land driving the average capital value up 61%, compared to an average increase of 42% for pastoral properties – being influenced in part by demand for land suitable for vineyard conversion and forestry use.
The total rateable value for the district is now $33.9 billion, with the land value of those properties now valued at $19.3 billion.
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 July 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 9 November 2023. There will be a ‘meet the valuer’ day on Tuesday 24 October from 10am to 1pm at the Council office, 15 Seymour Street, Blenheim.
Find out more about the rating revaluation and objection process.
