Source: Quotable Value
Hurunui property owners will soon receive a Notice of Rating Valuation in the post, containing an updated rating value for their property.
The new rating valuations have been prepared for 8,920 properties on behalf of Hurunui District Council by Quotable Value (QV). They show the district’s total rateable value is now $10,717,916,350, with the land value of those properties now valued at $6,743,951,300 .
Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils set rates for the following three-year period. They reflect the likely selling price of a property (excluding chattels) at the effective revaluation date, which was 1 July 2025.
On average, the value of residential housing in Hurunui has increased 1.5% since the previous effective revaluation date of 1 July 2022. The average home value is now $634,967, while the corresponding average land value has increased 3% to $276,318.
QV Consultant and Registered Valuer Shane de Freitas said, “Rating valuations are like a snapshot of the market at a point in time.”
“When the previous rating valuations were set in July 2022, the local property market had just started to level off after a period of strong post-pandemic growth,” he said.
“In response to that rapid escalation and rising inflation, the Reserve Bank substantially lifted the Official Cash Rate (OCR) throughout 2022, resulting in a sharp rise in interest rates.”
Mr de Freitas said that since the July 2022 revaluation date, the Hurunui residential market has remained largely resilient to the price corrections seen in many other parts of the country and has been further strengthened by recent cuts to the OCR.
“Amberley has benefited from significant population growth, much of which has come from Christchurch, with people drawn to the district’s affordability and lifestyle,” he said.
“Hanmer Springs has also experienced growth, although most active buyers are from out of town. Properties located within the central village and within walking distance of the pools have continued to perform particularly well.”
“Across the district, properties that are well-presented and priced affordably have generally performed the strongest.”
Commercial property values have marginally increased by 1.8%, while industrial property values have risen by 9.4% since the last rating valuation in 2022.
“The industrial sector continues to benefit from low vacancy rates and rising rental levels,” Mr de Freitas said. “Commercial land values have decreased by 4.7%, while industrial land values have increased by 4.1%.”
Mr de Freitas noted that the industrial market has continued to outperform the commercial sector on a national scale – a trend also reflected in the Hurunui District.
Since 2022, the average capital value of a lifestyle property has increased by 3.6% to $845,835, while the average land value has marginally decreased by 1.5% to $402,616.
“Lifestyle property makes up a significant part of the Hurunui market, with around 1,555 lifestyle properties in total,” he said. “This sector has followed a similar trend to the residential market, though slightly more buoyant, with prices marginally increasing since the July 2022 revaluation. Sales volumes in 2025 have also remained largely consistent with those recorded in 2023 and 2024.”
Rural properties have generally been performing positively, supported by increasing commodity prices and a solid short-to-medium-term outlook for both the dairy and beef sectors.
“Dairy sector properties have increased by 5.9%, with corresponding land values up 5% since the last rating valuation,” he said. “In contrast, pastoral and forestry properties have experienced significant decreases, with value levels dropping 9.6% and 8.2% respectively, and corresponding land value declines of 11.7% and 9.3%. This reflects the inflated values seen in 2022 due to competing forestry land use, as well as two years of weaker commodity prices.”
The effective rating revaluation date of 1 July 2025 has now passed and any changes in the market since then will not be included in the new rating valuations. In many cases, this means a sale price achieved in the market today may differ from the new rating valuation set as at 1 July 2025.
The updated rating valuations are independently audited by the Office of the Valuer-General and must meet rigorous quality standards before they are certified. They are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.
New rating values will be posted to property owners after 15 October 2025. If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have a right to object through the objection process by 21 November 2025.
