Work is already well underway on Invercargill’s general property revaluation for 2023.

New three-yearly rating valuations are being prepared for every one of the city’s 26,313 properties by independent valuers Quotable Value (QV), with new values being processed for every property based on its most likely selling price if it had sold on 1 July 2023.

The new rating valuations, which will be sent out to property owners after they are thoroughly audited and certified later this year, will provide Invercargill City Council with an equitable basis for setting rates for the following three-year period, starting from 1 July 2024.

QV National Revaluation Manager Tim Gibson said rating valuations were carefully calculated utilising all recent local property sales. “We have also visited a large number of properties throughout Invercargill, particularly those that have been issued building consents in the last three years.”

“Following careful analysis of all the data by our team of expert property valuers, the updated rating valuations will be independently audited by the Office of the Valuer General to ensure they meet rigorous quality standards before the new rating valuations are confirmed and eventually posted to all property owners.”

Invercargill City Council Acting Group Manager Finance and Assurance Patricia Christie said the valuations represented one of many factors in determining rates.

“A change in property valuations means ratepayers may see an adjustment in their annual rates charge. However, many things are taken into consideration when the rates amount is set. Changes are not solely driven from the valuation.

“The valuation provides the mechanism to allocate rates across all property.”

Property owners can expect to be notified of their new rating valuation after they have been finalised in October, 2023.

Rating valuations are carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years. They are not intended to be used for any other purpose besides helping councils fairly allocate rates, including raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.

If property owners do not agree with their new rating valuations, they have a right to object through the objection process. These details will be posted with all Notice of Rating Valuations once the revaluation has been completed and certified.

In the meantime, property owners can find out more about rating valuations at https://www.qv.co.nz/about/about-rating-valuations/