Property valuations
About Rating Valuations
The valuation of a property helps determine how the rates are set.
Search your property under the rates and valuation information page here Rating Information Database Far North District Council.
All properties must be valued every three years, according to The Rating Valuations Act 1988, to help set the local body rates. We refer to this as a General Property Revaluation. Far North District Council contracts Quotable Value to value properties on its behalf. They are New Zealand’s largest valuation and property services company.
Click here to find the current valuation of your property on the QV website.
- Land value
- Capital value
- Improvement value
Some of the property information used to assess the valuation of your property are:
- Zoning
- Land size
- Location
- House size
- Sale prices
In the Far North district, it is the value of your land that is used to calculate most of your rates bill.
Far North District Council uses standard rating valuations governed by the Rating Valuation Act 1998 and audited by the Office of the Valuer-General.
Valuation explained
How is the valuation done?
Quotable Value assesses properties using a mass appraisal process. Rather than inspect every property, QV takes similar property sales in each area at the time of the valuation and establishes a market trend. Sometimes roadside inspections are carried out to check the accuracy of proposed values. QV also uses property information like building consents held by Council.
What does land value, capital value and improvement value mean?
- Land value is the mostly likely selling price of bare land at valuation date. It includes drainage, excavation, filling, retaining walls, reclamation, grading, levelling, vegetation clearing, soil improvement, and protection from erosion or flooding. It does NOT include buildings.
- Capital value is the most likely selling price of the whole property at valuation date. It includes buildings and improvements. It does NOT include chattels, stock, crops, machinery or trees. Only capital value includes GST, other property types do not.
- Improvement value is the difference between the capital value and the land value. It reflects the value of the property’s buildings and other structures.
How land value affects your rates
Learn how Council calculates your rates invoice, in particular how the General Rate is impacted by an increase in the value of the land your property sits on.
Revaluation objections and rates calculations
As of 1 November 2023
If you have lodged an objection with Quotable Value (QV) over revaluations of your property, you are advised to pay your rates as per normal until the review has been completed and adjustments (if any) are made to your annual rates. Failure to pay rates when due risks incurring penalties.
Over 1,000 objections to property revaluations have been lodged with QV by Far North property owners, an increase of 150% compared to previous revaluations. The council uses updated land value information included in revaluations to help it calculate rates on individual properties. The volume of objections lodged following this latest round of revaluations has significantly compounded delays already experienced with the revaluation process due to the extreme weather events.
Key revaluation facts
- Property owners must pay their rates instalments when due.
- Do not wait for a decision on revaluation objection.
- Failure to pay the rates when due risks incurring penalties.
- Any reduction in rates will be reflected in subsequent rates invoices for 2023/24.
- All NZ properties are revalued every three years.
- FNDC uses land value to help set the rates.
- Valuations often have only a moderate impact on the total rates assessment.
- Valuations are calculated by independent assessors based on market trends. The council has no influence on the valuation.
What happens next with the objections recieved?
Valuers have visited the Far North to review properties for which an objection has been submitted to inspect properties. If the assessor agrees with the objection, rates for that property must then be manually recalculated by council staff. Each recalculation can take an hour or more to complete. It will take several weeks for revaluation decisions to be made and rates recalculated. If a change is made to annual rates payable on a property, the difference will be spread over the next three rates invoices for 2023/24. This will include any overpayment made for the instalments already paid.
As at 1 November 2023, property visits for 337 objections have taken place and valuers are due to commence writing their reports. Reporting and approval is due to be completed for 211 properties and valuers are due to visit 285 properties over the next months.
The number of valuers available has reduced in the last months as revaluations in the Kaipara District are due by 24 November. Once this has completed, the valuers who have been supporting the Kaipara District Council revaluation, will be redirected to complete the reviews of Far North District Council objections. QV anticipate that all objections will have been reviewed and communications sent to owners early 2024.
If you are struggling to pay your rates, please contact us. There are options available to help reduce the burden.
Contact our revenue recovery team on 0800 920 029 or email revenuerecovery@fndc.govt.nz to arrange an appointment.
Common questions and answers
Useful links
Find the valuation for your property
Find the rates and valuations for your property
The capital value is determined by recent sales in the area, which creates a market trend. Even if you have not made improvements to your land or property, its value may have increased because of strong sales in your area.
It is not practical to inspect every property, nor is it necessary. Council holds a lot of information about properties. Council tells QV about major changes like subdivisions and building consents. Roadside inspections can also confirm other changes.
Yes, but only some of the information. Council is required by law to make some information public. The contents of your valuation notice are contained within a public register known as the District Valuation Roll. This is available for public inspection at Council offices for a limited time. You can access any information held about your property and ask for corrections to be made.
You can ask for your name to be removed from the District Valuation Roll. Visit a Council Service Centre or phone us on 0800 920 029 or 09 401 5200.
Phone Quotable Value on 0800 787 284. Alternatively, go to QV's website for online property information.
Objections
What can I do if I disagree with the valuation?
You can object if you do not think your valuation reflects the market value of your property. Talk to QV first by calling 0800 787284. If you are still concerned, you can make an official objection by completing the QV objection form online. Objections must be lodged within six weeks of valuation notices going out. The latest revaluation was conducted in October 2022.
What happens if I lodge an objection?
After an objection your property will be inspected. If the issue can’t be resolved with an external inspection, the valuer will contact you to arrange access. You will be told about the outcome of your objection in writing.
Rates
How do new valuations affect rates?
Rating valuations form only a part of your rates bill. Far North District Council uses land values to set General Rates, Road Rates and the Kaitaia Business Improvement District (BID) Rate. Rating valuations do NOT set the Uniform Annual General Charge, Ward Rates or targeted rates for water and sewerage. New rates will be set by the Annual Plan 2023/24, which Council will adopt in June 2023. You will be charged new rates from 1 July 2023.
If my land value went up by 10%, will I face a 10% rates increase?
No. Only part of your rates bill is calculated using the value of your land, so an increase in your land value does not mean an equivalent increase in rates.
Will I get a reduction in rates if my land value went down?
This can happen. If your land value did not increase that much, or even decreased in value, you may get a rates reduction. Remember, land value is only one factor used to calculate rates. There may be other factors affecting your rates bill.
How can I find out what my rates will be for 2023/24?
We use the valuation to help calculate rates for the year starting 1 July 2023. Rates are set when we adopt our Annual Plan 2023/24 in June 2023. You can check the Rating Information Database during the consultation period.
What is it?
Every three years every district in NZ is revalued to set the values that councils will use to charge the rates for the next three years. The latest revaluation took place in October 2022. Revaluations set the value of the land (LV), capital (CV) and improvement value (IV).
Far North District Council rates on land value, so the value of the land determines how much the rates will be.
The valuation process is undertaken by council's valuer - Quotable Value - whose team of valuers assist with assessing values across NZ. They use current market data (sales and productivity), information from council and discussions with real estate agents to work out the land and capital values across the district. The results are then audited by the Valuer-General.
2022 Revaluation dates
Revaluation will be undertaken this year. Ratepayers will expect a valuation letter advising the new values to properties by May 2023.
| Effective date of valuation | 1 October 2022 |
| Date of public notice | 8 May 2023 |
| Approximate date owner's notices posted | 15 May 2023 |
| Objection closing date | 22 June 2023 |
What did the 2019 Property Valuation tell us?
The 2019 Far North revaluation has mostly recorded increases in value across the board from the previously 2016 valuation date. The overall average residential movement from the 2016 valuations is 30% on Capital Value and 35% on Land Value. (Different locations have increased at varied levels, this is the average across the district).
Key points to keep in mind - a lower value property may have moved at a greater percentage than a higher valued property has in the same area. The lifestyle market has also increased at a similar level to that of the residential market. Other sectors of note;
- Dairy and Pastoral Land movement was 20% on average across the district
- Horticulturally categorised property had the largest increase with an average land value increase of 49%
- Forestry the least with an average movement of 3.6% on Land value from 2016
- Commercial and Industrial land values shifted 30-35% on average. Location being a factor to growth in this sector.
- Across all sectors in the Far North district the average Capital Value movement was 25% and 30% for Land value movement from the previous 2016 valuation levels.
What did the 2016 property valuation tell us?
The 2016 property valuation revealed that values increased in all areas except Kaikohe, Kaitaia township and Awanui. Moerewa saw no change. Looking at the Far North as a whole, land values rose by 11.7 per cent and capital values rose by 12 per cent. That increase largely reversed losses recorded by the 2013 valuation.