Valuation

Every Council in New Zealand must complete a revaluation of all properties in its area at least every three years in accordance with the Rating Valuations Act 1998.  Central Hawke’s Bay District Council’s last revaluation was in 2018.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council contracts Quotable Value Ltd (QV) to carry out the revaluation.

Rateable Values are used as a base for setting general rates, land transport rates and stormwater rates.  Every District property has been valued as at 1 September 2021.  Any further market increases after this date can’t be taken into account.  Rateable Values are comprised of three components:

Capital value – the probable sale price for the property on 1 September 2021.  This doesn’t include chattels.

Land value – the probable price paid for the land on 1 September 2021.

Value of improvements – is the difference between the capital and land values.

Rateable Values are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance or as insurance valuations.

QV’s systems and processes are independently audited by the Valuer-General.

QV reviews all sales over recent months then using mass appraisal techniques has applied these to similar properties.  They’ve also reviewed properties for which building consents have been issued.   Owners of non-residential properties have been surveyed to obtain up to date information about rental income.

An increase in your property value may not mean you pay more in rates. The revaluation does not impact the total value of rates that Council collects, but does impact how this value is spread between ratepayers. Where a properties valuation changes in line with the market you should see no difference, however it is not unusual for farm values to move at different rates to urban values which cause redistribution of rates (some upwards and some downwards).

Residential property and lifestyle property (particularly those situated close to town) values have increased significantly, with much of the growth being driven by land value increases, and section prices at unprecedented levels.

While rural and commercial properties have also increased in value, the average increases have on average been much less than urban properties.

This has caused a shift in the underlying rating database which is used to spread the rates burden across the district. For example in 2018 the rural sector bore 69% of the Land Transport Rate (because it accounted for 69% of the total districts land value), this has fallen to 64% in 2021. While on the flip side residential properties in 2018 made up 13% of total land value, they now make up 19%.

As house prices have continued to rise over that past 3 years, there has been a trend to seek out what was traditionally affordable towns across Central Hawkes Bay as people have become priced out of main urban centres. This has caused towns such as Ongaonga and Tikokino to increase in value faster (in percentage terms) than Central Hawkes Bay’s main townships of Waipawa and Waipukurau.  While properties in these township still remain more affordable than the main towns, the relative gap has closed.

This closing the gap has meant that these smaller, rural towns now account for a larger percentage of the districts property values than they did traditionally, meaning that they too will pick up a larger percentage of the rates burden.

It is important to remember than a district revaluation (as being undertaken by QV here) doesn’t in itself mean that Council’s rates requirement change. But what is does change is how they are spread across the district. In every revaluation, properties that go up in value faster than the average can expect to pay more in rates, while properties than go up in value less than the average can expect to pay less in rates. Properties that sit right on the average will remain rates neutral.

Your property’s capital and land values are just one of the elements used to calculate your share of the Districts rates.  Properties are also charged ‘targeted’ rates – rates that relate to services available to your property.

The new values will be used as the basis for setting and assessing rates as from 1 July 2022.

At the 6^th April Council meeting it is planned that Council will adopt the draft Annual Plan for 2022/23. The annual plan is a updated version of year 2 of the Long Term Plan adopted last year.  Later in April we will provide information showing what your rates are proposed to be for 2021/22.

When you receive your Notice of Rating Valuation (early 2025), you've the right to object if you believe the new valuations for your property do not fairly represent its market value. Details showing how to do this will be available on the notice and online.

If you wish to find out more about your rating value and compare it with others in your neighbourhood, you are able to look on the QV website www.ratingvalues.co.nz.

Enquiries about the new valuations can be made by calling QV on 0800 787 284 (0800 QV Rating).

Enquires relating to rates, contact the Council

Website: chbdc.govt.nz             Email:  rates@chbdc.govt.nz            Phone:  06 857 8060