By John Lawson
Every 3 years all properties in the country are revalued to set how much of the council general rates bill each will pay. This year it’s Waikato District’s turn and we have till Friday to object. If you plan to sell, you might want to ask for a higher value and, if you don’t, you might prefer lower rates, or you might just think they’ve got it about right.
As it would be too expensive to value every property individually, the valuers just drive down many urban streets and base values on sales of nearby properties (excluding mortgagee sales). If you’ve updated your property, but the work hasn’t required a building consent, like a new kitchen, deck, etc, then it’s not likely to be in the valuation.
And it’s not just location, location, that affects value. Size, condition, character, construction quality, views, access (drive on), garaging, parking, sun (aspect), number of rooms, privacy, access to local amenities and noise can all vary values. However, two Wallis St harbour front properties sold well above their 2011 valuations, suggesting that global warming/rising seas so far has no effect.
The average capital value in Raglan is now $376,000 and land value $236,000, putting the average house at $612,000, as against the district-wide average of $401,000. Raglan commercial properties have also decreased in value, but not quite as much as residential.
In 2011 about 1,050 Raglan valuations (there were 1,110 occupied dwellings in the 2013 census) were higher than the district-wide average. In 2014 there are wide variations, though overall the Raglan average is down. For example, one harbour-side house on Cliff St has dropped over 12%, falling below even the 2008 level, whilst another in Raglan West has risen 7%. This reflects average values, as shown here –
|
Capital Value |
Land Value |
|
|
Raglan East |
-0.3% |
-0.1% |
|
central Raglan |
-5.8% |
-2.8% |
|
Raglan West |
4.8% |
-0.8% |
|
whole Raglan |
-1.1% |
-0.8% |
|
whole district |
4.7% |
6.4% |
|
Te Akau |
-0.3% |
-0.2% |
|
Ngaruawahia |
0.0% |
-0.9% |
|
Huntly East |
-0.2% |
0.3% |
|
Huntly West |
-8.2% |
-6.9% |
|
Te Kauwhata |
7.2% |
21% |
|
Pokeno |
25.6% |
28.6% |
|
Tuakau |
17.4% |
17.6% |
The 2011 increases provoked protest, including an unsuccessful challenge for the mayor’s job from the former Franklin area. Pokeno and other former Franklin residents are going to see another leap in their rates again from July 2015.
In Raglan the general rate makes up about a third of a typical Raglan residential rates bill, the rest being ‘targeted’ rates for water, sewage, recycling, stormwater, the Town Hall and a ‘uniform annual general charge’. With high rates for sewage and with property values about one and a half times the district average, Raglan rates will remain high. This is especially so in relation to income, as Raglan median income in 2013 was $18,900, against $24,100 for all of Waikato Region. In 2011 in Huntly the majority of households paid less than 5% of their income in rates, in Ngaruawahia 4.5%, in Tuakau 3.5%, in rural areas 3%, but in Raglan that statement was not true until those paying 6.5% of their income were included.
Online objections can be made by Friday November 28 at www.ratingvalues.co.nz. You can check your (and anyone else’s) previous and proposed valuations and how your rates are made up at http://waidc.govt.nz/rid.aspx; just select the town and street and click on the selection at the foot of the page.