A look at rateable values
Auckland property owners wondering how their new Council valuations stack up may be able to take some comfort from new findings by real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson. The company compared the sale price for properties it sold in July 2017 to the new rateable value for the same properties, and found the majority ( 80 per cent) had sold at a price within 10 per cent of their new CV.
“Our data indicates the new rateable values are generally reflective of the price ranges that properties were being sold for in July this year,” says the agency’s managing director Peter Thompson.
“While the rule still stands that Council’s rateable valuations should not be relied on as a market value for a property, we can say that the system is generally in step with the value brackets most homes would naturally fall into, had they been sold at that time.”
Thompson says the CV appraisals are used for determining the share of rates a property owner pays and won’t take into account the real value an individual property.
Lower prices
According to economists at Westpac the Government’s plans to cool the housing market and reduce net migration will weigh on the economy next year.
“Our view remains that the Reserve Bank will not need to raise interest rates until late 2019,” their weekly report says.
Consumer spending growth tends to be closely correlated with the strength of the housing market, they say.
“The latest slowdown in retail spending suggests that the relationship is alive and well. House sales are down by about a third from last year’s peak, and the double- digit house price growth we saw in previous years has given way to a period of quite subdued gains.”
The economists reckon the recent housing slowdown will “persist for some time”.
They think the planned extension of the ‘ bright line’ test for taxing capital gains on investment properties, will push house prices lower over 2018 and beyond.
“That implies a significantly slower pace of spending growth than retailers have been used to over recent years.”
Property Report
Free with Monday’s New Zealand Herald is our quarterly Property Report. Inside you’ll find the latest QV home value prices for 420 North Island suburbs along with news and features covering topics such as boundary disputes, pre- fab homes, and rural landfills.