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Property values, and rates, jump across Auckland region

Author
Sam Thompson, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Thu, 16 Nov 2017, 12:08PM
​

Property values, and rates, jump across Auckland region

Author
Sam Thompson, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Thu, 16 Nov 2017, 12:08PM

Most Auckland home owners face rates increases from the middle of next year.

Property values of Auckland homes have gone up by an average of 46 percent.

Auckland Council has today revealed the total value of all residential properties across the region, as well as a breakdown of values by property type and suburb.

Paerata/Runciman, a small settlement north of Pukekohe, has gone up a whopping 151 percent due to rezoning from rural to residential.

The largest increases have been in Waiheke, in south Auckland in places like Otara, Otahuhu and Manurewa and West Auckland's Henderson and Massey.

Council treasurer John Bishop says the new rates won't be set until July next year.

"If your house suddenly goes up by the average valuation, your dollar value of rate you're going to pay won't change. It is true if your valuation has gone up above the average, you will pay slightly more."

The average Auckland residential property value in the city has jumped to $1.076m.

Papakura, Papatoetoe-Otara and Waiheke Island sat well above the average growth, having risen in value by more than 60 per cent since the last revaluation in 2014.

Waiheke Island jumped the most, up 64 per cent in the three years to July 1 2017.

Otara-Papatoetoe follows closely in second place having risen by 62 per cent and Papakura up by 61 per cent.

Three other local board areas also showed jumps of more than 50 per cent in value, Henderson-Massey 51 per cent, Mangere-Otahuhu 55 per cent and Manurewa 53 per cent.

Looking closer at the individual suburbs' values, some areas jumped even higher, with two suburbs more than doubling in value, Paerata/Runciman jumping by 151 per cent and Wainui/Waitoki 102 per cent.

Not all areas posted gains, however, with one suburb, Kawau Island, dipping in value by 3 per cent.

Auckland Council said the largest movements appeared to be a result of higher demand in the outer suburbs where property was less expensive.

Head of rates Debbie Acott said "generally speaking the values in Auckland's outer suburbs appear to be catching up with the 2014 revaluation".

"Areas that increased the most in the last revaluation - by and large central Auckland - are now roughly moving along the average, and those that didn't last time - mainly outer Auckland - are the ones with the highest increases this time."

She said these valuations should "not be viewed as current market value".

"Because of Auckland's dynamic property market valuations only capture a moment in time."

Auckland Council chief economist David Norman said the rise in residential property values reflects at least three things.

They are Auckland's strong population growth had not been matched by new house builds, low interest rates allowing people to bid up prices and the Unitary Plan adding a lot of value to properties that can be intensified.

Individual rateable values (RV) for the roughly 548,000 properties analysed will be released on Monday.

The valuation figures, which Auckland Council used to help calculate property rates, could in turn lead to a rise in homeowners' rates bills - albeit officials have said previously that this would be unlikely to happen till next year.

Officials today also explained that these rates were not just based on the valuations alone and would not necessarily correspond with the change in value of a property.

Acott said property valuations helped council work out everyone's share of rates.

"They don't mean that we collect any more money. However, we won't know the impact of this revaluation on rates until we agree our next budget in 2018, so I encourage Aucklanders to view these valuations with that in mind."

CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall said rates rises were more to do with the rise in proportion to the change in values in other suburbs.

"Households whose property values have risen at a higher percentage than others in the city could be hit with a higher rates rise in proportion to those whose values have not risen as much."

Commercial properties had also risen by 43 per cent, industrial properties 47 per cent, and lifestyle properties 57 per cent.

New RVs are released triennially, after a region wide revaluation of all commercial, industrial and rural properties that every council in New Zealand is legally required to carry out.

Property owners who had subscribed would receive an email on Monday detailing their individual property valuations, otherwise the information would be on the council website.

In 2014 public interest in individual valuations crashed the website - just how the council plans to avoid a repeat crash should be revealed at the media briefing today.

Individual valuations will also be available on qv.co.nz and on the Herald website on Monday.

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