Whangārei's properties now worth $28 billion - a 39 per cent rise in 3 years

Whangārei's suburbs have seen huge property value rises over the past 3 years with the entire district now worth $28.89 billion - a 39 per cent increase.

Northland's booming property market has been reflected in the latest revaluation of Whangārei, with the district's properties now worth a combined $28.89 billion - a 39 per cent increase in three years.

Whangārei District Council has to value all the properties in its district every three years.

The valuations are conducted by independent valuation company Opteon, audited by the Valuer General and give the value of properties as of August 1, 2018.

The Opteon report shows that the capital value of Whangārei's 42,283 properties is $28.89 billion, 39 per cent up on the 2015 valuation of $20.78b. The capital value is the total value of the property including buildings and improvements and is the estimated sale price as of August 1, 2018.

Residential properties make up the majority of the value - $14.745b, or 51.04 per cent of the total.

At the same time the district's land value - the value of the land without any improvements - is now $14.67b, a 47.5 per cent increase on the $9.94b 2015 valuation.

The council uses land value to calculate a property's share of the district's general rates.

General manager of Eves real estate in Whangārei, Paul Beazley, said the valuations were a fair reflection of where the market was at after the district saw huge growth in sale prices over the past three years.

The figures show that some of the district's traditionally cheaper suburbs have had some of the biggest rises in capital value, but Beazley said this was no real surprise.

Raumanga has an average property value of $395,129 a 72 per cent increase on the $230,418 average value in 2015.

Kamo East saw its 2015 average of $278,136 rise to $445,373 - or 62 per cent - while Ōtangarei's average soared from $154,506 in 2015 to $248,095, up 60 per cent.

''There has always been a lot of demand for those places and this is a bit of a catch up really. If we had 100 people come in about 70 per cent would be looking in the $300,000 range, about 10 per cent will be the $600-800,000 plus sector and the other 20 per cent those in between,'' Beazley said.

''So the largest pool are looking for those lower value properties, including investors and first home buyers, so it's no real surprise those suburbs are seeing such a surge in values.

''If you look at somewhere like Kamo East. That's really taken off and that's helped by things like the Totara Park development and expanding retirement villages. It's still behind Kamo West (from $402,842 to $572,027, up 43 per cent) but Kamo East is catching up.''

Opteon said the Whangārei market has been increasingly buoyant since 2016 and Beazley said the new valuations were pretty much what they could expect to sell for in the current market and he can't see too much fluctuation this year.

''Overall they seem to be reasonably accurate, but you will always get variations or places that will sell for more if there is strong interest in it.''

He said the Whangarei market had boomed over the past three years, with plenty of Aucklanders selling up and moving north, which allowed them to have a lot of money in the bank while still buy a decent house here. Investors also looked at buying in Whangarei as homes were far cheaper than in Auckland and could give good returns.

He said a high valuation was only really a big advantage if you were looking at selling up and moving into a smaller home.

OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said the CVs were a good indication of where the market was at in Whangarei.

''The reason they are that high is that Whangarei has caught up with the rest of the country. You've got buyers from Auckland looking into the Whangarei market and savvy investors will be seeing the infrastructure is good in the North, and with planned expansion of the highway, that will make it easier to commute.''

Anybody who wants to lodge an objection to their new valuation must do so in writing before February 15. Objection forms are available from Whangarei District Council customer services or online at wdc.govt.nz.