Western Bay’s latest property valuations are in
If you own property in the Western Bay you’ll be receiving important information on your updated property revaluation this week.
Every three years Western Bay of Plenty District Council must undertake property revaluations to gain a District-wide appraisal of property values to accurately assess the value of a property at a given time.
The rating valuations are being completed by independent valuation company Quotable Value (QV), following Council’s last revaluation in 2019. The valuation process is audited by the Office of the Valuer-General.
Council’s Group Manager Corporate Services, Adele Henderson says these valuations are important as they provide a snapshot of our District and are used for the sole purpose of rating. They do not reflect the value of your property on the open market, nor do they reflect the sale price of any property.
We use these valuations as a guide for setting your rates. The revised rating valuations are effective as at 1 September 2022. These values will be used to set rates for the next financial year (2023/2024).
“One thing we want to stress is an increase in your property value may not mean you pay more in rates. Any rates increase is determined by your property value increase compared with the average increase across the Western Bay Of Plenty District,” explains Adele.
“Some valuations will go up, others will go down - some won’t change.
Adele says there has been extremely large growth across all sectors of the District since the last valuations took place in 2019.
“This has been driven by a number of factors, demand for housing, a steady increase in residential, lifestyle and commercial properties, high gains for kiwifruit orchards as well as dairy and pastoral land values where there is opportunity for diversification into horticulture.”
Here are the key changes.
Residential
The value of residential housing has increased by 55 percent since 2019, with the average house value (CV) in the District now sitting at $ 1,050,000. The corresponding average land value has also increased by 72 percent to a new average of $ 648,000.
Rural
The rural sector had also observed high growth overall due to the demand for existing horticultural or properties that are prime for horticultural development. Horticultural properties have increased by average 52.1 percent, with pastoral properties showing a 42.1 percent increase since the District’s last rating revaluation in 2019 and dairy experiencing a similar 43.1 percent average increase. The demand for lifestyle development near major settlements has also been a factor in these rural value increases.
Commercial
Commercial property values in Western Bay of Plenty have increased by 48 percent on average, and property values in the industrial sector have increased by 68 percent since the District’s last rating valuation. Commercial and industrial land values have also increased by 81 percent and 138 percent respectively.
Lifestyle
The average capital value of an improved lifestyle property has increased by 50 percent to $ 1,582,000, while the corresponding land value for a lifestyle property increased by 46 percent to $ 905,000.
QV National Revaluation Manager Tim Gibson says analysis shows the total rateable value for the District is now $42.6 billion, a 51.2 percent increase since the District’s last revaluation in 2019, with the land value of those properties now valued at $23.7 billion, which is a 57.1 percent increase.
“It will come as no surprise that residential property values are now much higher than they were in 2019. During this period, we’ve witnessed property values grow a great deal both locally and nationally in 2020 and especially 2021, primarily as a result of record low interest rates. They’ve fallen back in 2022, however they remain a long way off their pre-pandemic levels overall.”
All property owners and ratepayers will receive a letter from QV outlining their new valuation later this week, from Wednesday 28 June.
Further information on the revaluation process and how to make an objection can be found on our property revaluation web page www.westernbay.govt.nz/revaluation or you can pick up a property revaluation brochure from one of our library and service centres.
The District Valuation Rolls will also be available, free of charge, at our library and service centres:
- Barkes Corner, 1484 Cameron Road, Greerton, Tauranga
- Te Puke, 130 Jellicoe Street, Te Puke
- The Centre – Pātuki Manawa, 21 Main Road, Katikati
- Waihī Beach, 106 Beach Road, Waihī Beach
- Ōmokoroa, 28 Western Avenue, Ōmokoroa
The revised rating valuations are also available to be inspected on Quotable Value’s website at qv.co.nz/property-search or our dedicated property revaluation page www.westernbay.govt.nz/revaluation.
Objections process
Objections to the revised valuations can be lodged online at www.qv.co.nz/services/rating-valuations/object-rating/ or in writing no later than Thursday 3 August 2023.
Objection forms are available at either QV’s Tauranga office - Level 1, 58 Devonport Road, Tauranga or one of Western Bay Council’s library and service centres.
Or you can phone QV on 0800 787 284 to talk to someone and have a form sent to you.
More information about understanding your rating value can be found at qv.co.nz/about/about-rating-valuations
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 reflect the likely selling price of a property at the effective revaluation date, which was 1 September 2022, and do not include chattels.
It is helpful to remember that any changes in the market since that time will not be included in the new rating valuations. Often this means that a sale price achieved in the market today will be different to the new rating valuation set at 1 September 2022.
The updated rating valuations are independently audited by the Office of the Valuer-General and need to meet rigorous quality standards before the new rating valuations are certified. They are not intended to be used as market valuations for raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.
