Central Otago property values continue to soar

Property owners in the Central Otago District will soon receive a valuation notice in the post with the latest take on the value of their asset, with values having gone one way since the last assessment three years ago, and that's up.

The average value of a residential house has increased by 38 percent across the district, while the average value of residential land has increased by 53 percent, according to new rating valuations for the Central Otago District Council prepared by independent valuers Quotable Value (QV).

It means the average house value now sits at $806,000, and the corresponding average residential land value, at $413,000.

The total rateable value for the district is now $18.3 billion, with the land value of those properties now at $10.2 billion.

The new rating valuations have been prepared for 15,408 properties.

Image: Supplied/Quotable Value.

QV's revaluation manager for urban locations Melanie Halliday says "Central Otago has bucked the trend of many regional centres in New Zealand in 2022, showing only a minor three percent drop in the market at the time of revaluation".

"Strong demand and population growth in the region underpinning property values in the region particularly for residential and lifestyle markets."

She says the local commercial and industrial sectors have experienced similar value increases across the district.

Commercial property values have increased by 37 percent on average, with property values in the industrial sector also increasing by an average of 48 percent. Commercial and industrial land values have also increased by averages of 66 percent and 87 percent respectively.

"Rural sectors observed more subdued growth with pastoral showing a 29 percent increase, with rural values underpinned by a strong lifestyle market. The market for cherry orchards showed volatility - after strong demand in 2019, 2020 was experiencing a downturn in confidence at the time of revaluation compounded by challenges obtaining finance for these properties," she says.

Meanwhile, the average capital value of an improved lifestyle property has increased by 46 percent to a new average capital value of $1,370,000, while the corresponding land value for a lifestyle property has also increased by 56 percent to an average land value of $667,000.

Image: Supplied/Quotable Value.

The highest-value properties in the district are on the outskirts of Cromwell - the average house value in Pisa Moorings and Lowburn, an area QV refers to as Cromwell rural, is approximately $1.3 million; in Bannockburn, it's $1.4 million.

Average land values on the rural edges of the district have soared, more than doubling in Naseby and Maniototo in the three-year period, while land values in Clyde have also more than doubled.

Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils set rates for the following three years.

They reflect the likely selling price of a property at the time of revaluation, which for Central Otago this time around was October 1, 2022, and do not include chattels.

QV says property owners should "remember that any changes in the market since that time will not be included in the new rating valuations".

The new rating values by QV for Central Otago have been independently audited by the Office of the Valuer General.

However, if any owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have the right to object to it before April 21.