• Aucklanders will receive new property valuations from this week, affecting 630,000 properties.
• The valuations will set rates, rising by 5.8% from July 1.
• Average Auckland property values peaked at $1.58m in January 2022, but returned to 2021 levels by May last year.

Auckland’s average residential property values have plummeted by nearly 10%, new council valuations show.

Aucklanders will receive their long-awaited new CVs from this week - possibly as early as tomorrow online – following repeated delays.

This follows the green light from the Valuer-General approving the valuations for 630,000 residential, commercial, and farm/lifestyle properties across the Auckland region.

A sneak peak of the valuation data, released today, shows residential values have dropped 9% since the last CVs were released in 2021.

Auckland Council chief financial officer Ross Tucker said the rating valuations that property owners would receive this week were based on property market trends and recent sales activity as of May 1, 2024.

The data was “not intended to accurately reflect current market value”, but would help enable rates to be shared across the city.

The new figures show valuation movements between July 2021 and May 2024 varied across the Auckland region.

Overall CV movements by property type showed residential properties had taken the biggest hit.

“Residential properties in centrally located local board areas tended to see a bigger reduction than those further out,” Tucker said.

The news CVs will be out from tomorrow. Photo / Alex Burton

The breakdown by property type shows:

*Industrial +5%

*Lifestyle +4%

*Rural +4%

*Commercial -5%

*Residential -9%

Tucker said the last council valuations in 2021 were completed close to the market peak.

“Between then and May 2024 the economy and property market generally trended down. Therefore, as most people would expect, the May 2024 capital values (CVs) are lower than the previous 2021 CVs for many properties.”

Residential property values across Auckland City have taken the biggest hit.

The council’s chief economist Gary Blick said the last two Auckland rating valuations coincided with “markedly different stages” in the economic cycle.

In 2021, the official cash rate (OCR) had been at an all-time low.

“We saw exceptionally low mortgage rates and strong upward pressure on property prices. The 2021 rating valuations reflected those higher prices.”

In contrast, the 2024 valuations occurred when the OCR had been lifted to its recent high of 5.5%.

“Higher interest rates cooled buyer demand, leading to a decline in property prices.

“The recent economic cycle – with its unusually steep climb and fall – helps explain why some properties have had swings between the two rating valuations,” Blick said.

CVs a source of fascination for property-mad Aucklanders

The CVs are a massive source of fascination for property-mad Aucklanders when it comes to buying and selling homes, and involve the council estimating the value of every residential and commercial property in the region.

The new CVs will be used to set rates, which rise by 5.8% from July 1.

The new valuations were set as of May 1 last year, but their release was pushed back from late last year to May of this year, and then this month.

The council’s Tucker said the last CVs from June 1, 2021, were completed close to the market peak, and between then and May 2024, the economy and the property market generally have trended down.

Therefore, he said, most people would expect the May 2024 CVs to be lower.

The overall CV movements between the two sets of CVs are:

• Residential -9%
• Commercial -5%
• Industrial +5%
• Rural and lifestyle +4%

Tucker said valuation movements also varied across the region, with central-located Local Board areas having a bigger reduction than those further out.

Thousands of Auckland ratepayers could find their rates chopping and changing this year because of the late release of the valuations.

This is because many ratepayers will object to their new values past July 1, leading to ratepayers paying the rates struck on July 1 and higher or lower rates if their objection to the council is successful.

At the last revaluation in 2021, more than 9000 objections were made to the council.

The CVs include commercial buildings. Photo / Natalie Slade

At the time of the new valuations on May 1 last year, OneRoof figures show Auckland’s average property value was $1.31m. This is marginally less than the average property value of $1.37m when Auckland CVs were last taken in June 2021.

Between the two sets of CVs, average Auckland property prices peaked at $1.58m in January 2022 and fell to 2021 levels by the latest valuations in May last year, according to OneRoof figures.

This would indicate little change between the 2021 and 2024 CVs.

Under an allocation mechanism, owners of properties where the change in value exceeds the overall average change will pay more in rates.

The opposite is true for valuation changes below the overall average. Their rates will fall relative to the average general rate increase.