Farmers could be making an even greater contribution to the running of the Waitaki district after changes in property values in the latest revaluation for the Waitaki District Council were released yesterday.
While properties in other sectors, such as residential, have shown modest rises, dairy, pastoral and specialist properties in the agricultural sector have increased by more than 20% in land value and 15% in capital value.
That means other sectors could contribute less to the council's budget. The council will not collect any more money from July 1 next year as a result of the revaluation - only whatever rise it makes in its overall budget.
But when the new valuations are applied to rates, it will have an effect by redistributing the rates burden among the various sectors.
Quotable Value presented the results of a two-year revaluation of the district to a council workshop yesterday.
Normally, the district is revalued every three years - the last was in 2012 - but the council requested an earlier revaluation to coincide with its 10-year Long Term Plan, which has to be done next year.
Quotable Value's South Island operations manager, Brendon Bodger, said the new valuations reflected ''nice, good, steady growth'' consistent with valuations since 2009.
It reflected that provincial New Zealand was ''holding its own'', despite not having housing booms like Auckland and Christchurch. Queenstown was ''stirring to life'' and Nelson was ''showing a bit more form''.
The farming sector had shown the biggest growth. Its capital value had increased by 4% to 45% of the total district's capital value and farming land value by rose 3% to make up 69%.
While dairy properties had continued to grow in value, there had now been large increases in values of pastoral farms, particularly those on steeper contours rather than flat to easy land.
Sheep and beef property values were ''starting to kick back into life again'' and there had been ''good increases'' in farm values in drier areas. Despite the recent falls in dairy prices, those properties were still going well, reflecting the overall rises in prices over the past five years.
In terms of the residential sector, property prices on the flat areas of Oamaru were virtually unchanged, but those on the hills with good sea views had risen, driven by demand, Mr Bodger said.
Business property values had been driven by more activity in the industrial sector, which had shown a 3.2% rise in capital values and 11.8% rise in land values, compared with 2.1% and 1.8% respectively in the commercial sector.
Earthquake-prone buildings continued to lose value, the drop depending on their risk level.
For the first time nationally, irrigation company assets had been included in the rateable values. For example, the North Otago Irrigation Company's scheme had been given a rateable value of $52 million. This meant they could now be rated, but that was a decision for the council as to whether to do that or how.
All 14,758 property owners will have the new values posted out to them from November 26, and the valuation rolls can be inspected at council offices from then. Owners have until January 9 to object to values.
In the last Waitaki revaluation in 2012, 241 objections were lodged, below the national average.
The council will consider as part of its Long Term Plan, being prepared now, the effect the new values will have on rates paid by the various sectors, but is not expected to make major changes to its rating policy.
