Stuff Digital Edition

Land valuations jump 73pc

Katie Townshend katie.townshend@stuff.co.nz

Nelson property owners should expect a big jump when they get their new rating valuations from Quotable Value (QV).

But while values are going up since the last assessment, in 2018, owners are being reassured that they shouldn’t see an equivalent jump in their rates bills.

The latest rating valuations for Nelson properties, which were assessed in September, are being sent to owners, with the average house price increasing 42 per cent since 2018, taking the average value to $885,000.

Meanwhile, the average land value has increased 73 per cent, to an average of $508,000.

Rating values are reviewed every three years, and reflect the likely sales price of a property at the valuation date – in this case, September 1, 2021 – excluding chattels.

The new valuations cover 22,831 properties for the Nelson City Council, and the city’s total rateable value is now $22.82 billion, with the land value totalling $12.53b.

But, while the council would use the values as the base to set rates from July 1, 2022, its group manager corporate services, Nikki Harrison, said the increase did not necessarily mean that rates bills would go up by the same amount.

This was because the amount of rates collected did not change just because rating values had gone up, she said.

‘‘If everyone’s land value went up 73 per cent and you’re still collecting the same amount of rates, then . . . your proportion of the rates doesn’t change. We don’t actually collect any more rates because of the revaluation.’’

What could change was the size of the proportion – so how much rates changed would depend on how close to the average a property’s increase was, she said.

Owners whose values went up by more than the average could see an increase, while those whose increases were below the average could pay less, she said.

QV manager for NelsonMarlborough Craig Russell said the local property market and lack of land for development had fuelled the large increases.

‘‘We have seen significant growth in the residential sector since 2018, which has been fuelled by record low interest rates, a shortage of listings, and strong regional migration, in addition to a number of expats returning.

‘‘The majority of value increases has stemmed from pressure on land, with Nelson’s geography making it difficult to develop land at scale. This has led to intensification, with strong demand from developers for modest homes on larger, easy-todevelop sites.’’

Lifestyle properties also saw large increases, with values going up 39 per cent to an average of $1.12m, while land values increased by 48 per cent to an average of $650,000.

‘‘There has been good demand for established lifestyle sections north of Nelson CBD as people seek to avoid the congested commute from Waimea/Tasman, with a shortage of listings causing stronger than expected prices,’’ Russell said.

The commercial and industrial sectors saw moderate increases. Commercial property values increased 14 per cent, and the industrial sector by 27 per cent, while land values increased by 31 and 36 per cent respectively.

Because the valuations reflected sales prices in September, changes in the market since then would not be reflected.

New rating values will soon be posted to property owners, who can then object to the valuation by March 10, 2022, if they do not agree.

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2022-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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