South Taranaki house values up 86% on three years ago, rates won't necessarily follow

Hāwera is one of the South Taranaki district's major towns. Photo / Supplied

House values rose more than 85 per cent in South Taranaki over the past three years, but that increase likely won't be reflected in how much households pay in rates.

That's the message from South Taranaki District Council's corporate services group manager Marianne Archibald after a district revaluation was recently carried out.

The council said the total capital value of property in the district had increased by 20.4 per cent over the past three years, to be worth $13.9 billion.

Most notable in the changes were residential properties, which were up 86 per cent.

Lifestyle and commercial properties were up 45.8 per cent and 40.7 per cent respectively on three years ago, while dairy and pastoral properties were down 0.1 per cent.

Archibald said the property values were only a "snapshot" at a single point in time.

"Because real estate fluctuates over time, a rating value can't be expected to represent the market value for an extended period, which is why the district is revalued every three years."

How property values affected what a person or business paid in rates was complex, Archibald said.

"Just because your property rating value may show a change, that does not mean that your future rates will change proportionately."

The value was just one part used to determine a ratepayer's share of the total rates paid in the district.

How much rates were collected did not change after a revaluation of properties, she said.

"If you think of the rates budget like a pie. The pie doesn't get any bigger because of revaluation.

"Your property's value just determines the portion of the pie that you're going to pay and ensures your portion is the same as others whose properties are valued the same as yours."

Rates would be affected if a property's value had increased or decreased by more or less than the average movement across the district, Archibald said.

The values were worked out by Quotable Value, which used a process called "mass-appraisal".

That took into account relevant property sales from the area around the time the valuation was done.

A market trend was established and applied to similar properties in the area.

The rating values process was then audited by the Office of the Valuer General - an independent authority at Land Information NZ.

Archibald said residents would soon receive a notice about their revaluation and the new rating values would be used from July 1, 2022, when the new financial year began.

Residents were allowed to object to valuations by contacting Quotable Value or by using an objection form that can be found on the council's website.

The last day for objections in South Taranaki is Thursday, May 19.

Archibald said property owners would soon receive a Notice of Rating Valuation with an updated rating value for their property.