New rating valuations on the way for Palmerston North
Published on 04 December 2024
Palmerston North property owners will soon receive new three-yearly rating valuations.
Updated values have been prepared for 34,888 properties in the city by independent valuers Quotable Value (QV) on behalf of Palmerston North City Council. They reflect the likely price a property would have sold for on 1 September 2024, not including chattels.
Since the city’s last revaluation in 2021, the value of residential housing has decreased by an average of 15%. The average house value is now at $670,000, while the corresponding average residential land value has decreased by 24% to a new average of $368,000.
QV registered valuer Simon Willocks said “Palmerston North wasn’t the only territorial authority to experience reduced capital and land values this year and it would not be the last, after the previous triennial revaluation was undertaken at around the peak of the market.”
The average capital value of an improved lifestyle property has eased back by 5.9% to $1,215,000, and the corresponding average land value for a lifestyle property declined by 4.8% to $556,000.
“Lifestyle properties have followed a similar trend to the residential market but with moderate reductions by comparison,” Mr Willocks added.
Meanwhile, commercial property values have had a slight decrease of 0.9% however property values in the industrial sector have increased by 12.0% since the City’s last rating valuation in 2021. Commercial and industrial land values have decreased 3.8% and increased 20.8% respectively.
Palmerston North’s rural sector is relatively small. Its average capital and land value have also decreased slightly since 2021.
The total rateable value for Palmerston North is now $30.96 billion, with the land value of those properties now valued at $15.5 billion.
The Palmerston North City Council will use the new values as the base for setting rates from 1 July 2025. Steve Paterson, Council’s Manager of Financial Strategy, said Council staff are now reviewing the values to assess the impact on rates for individual properties.
“It’s important to realise that changes to values do not increase or decrease the total rates revenue of the Council,” he said. “Rates are based on the City’s long-term plan and annual budgets and are distributed according to each property’s share of the total City value. New valuations help to redistribute rates fairly but do not impact the total revenue collected by the Council.”
In addition to the changes to rates as a result of the revaluation, there will also be changes due to the progressive implementation of the new rating system, where a greater share of the rates is being based on the capital value rather than the land value of each property.
Council’s decisions about proposed rates from 1 July 2025 will be shared with the public as part of the consultation for its annual budget scheduled for March/April 2025.
What are rating valuations?
Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils assess rates for the following three-year period. They are not intended to be used for any other purpose, including raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.
They reflect the likely selling price of a property at the effective revaluation date, which was 1 September 2024, and do not include chattels. Any changes in the market since that time will not be included in the new rating valuations, which often means that a sale price achieved today will be different to the new rating valuation.
Rating valuations are calculated using a highly complex and detailed process that utilises all relevant property sales from your area. A large number of properties were also physically assessed, particularly those that have been issued building consents in the last three years.
Before being confirmed, the updated rating valuations have been independently audited by the Office of the Valuer General to ensure they meet rigorous quality standards.
If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have a right to object by 03 February 2025. Objections can be made online or by post.
Check the latest value of your property