Tauranga City Council delays property revaluations, early figures show steep rises

Citywide property revaluations are now expected to be available towards the end of December. Photo / Getty Images

Tauranga homeowners will now have to wait until the end of December to receive the council's revaluations of their properties.

Early figures, however, show residential value increases of up to 60 per cent.

The council said in a statement the revaluations delay was due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Property revaluations take place every three years and are a legal process independently audited by the Office of the Valuer-General.

The new valuations will be used to calculate rates for the next three years, starting on July 1.

The last Tauranga revaluation took place in 2018.

Council transactional services manager Jim Taylor said revaluation notices were usually sent out in November.

But now they would be received from December 20 if approved.

Independent valuation company Opteon conducts Tauranga revaluations by analysing recent property sales information, resource and building consent data and undertaking sample inspections to establish an updated picture of land and capital values across the city.

Opteon regional director Avella Collopy said residential and industrial property values had increased strongly in the last three years.

"High demand, coupled with a lack of available development land, has increased values throughout Tauranga.

"The lack of residential listings is also driving prices higher. At the same time, constraints on the building industry and significant delays in getting materials to New Zealand continue to increase construction costs."

She said growth in property values varied across the city.

In residential property, capital value increases of 40-60 per cent were observed at the lower end of the market, with mid-value properties up 30-40 per cent.

But at the top end of the market, value increases were in the 20-30 per cent range, with the exception of Matua, Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa, which were up 40-60 per cent.

The council said changes in valuations did not necessarily affect the cost of rates, unless the property's change was significantly higher or lower than the citywide average.

Property owners wanting early notice of their revaluations were asked not to contact the council or Opteon as the information would not be available until the valuations had been audited and approved.

Visit the council's website for more information.