Source: Quotable Value
Ōpōtiki District 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 6,178 properties on behalf of Ōpōtiki District Council by Quotable Value (QV). They show the total rateable value for the district is now $4,644,708,850, with the land value of those properties now $2,240,957,150.
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 June 2025.
On average, the value of residential housing in Ōpōtiki has decreased by 3.5% since the previous effective revaluation date of 1 July 2022. The average home value is now $549,000, while the corresponding average land value has decreased by 23.3% to $252,000.
QV Senior Consultant and Registered Valuer Michael Power 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 was coming off a period of exceptional post-pandemic growth.”
“In response to that rapid escalation and rising inflation, the Reserve Bank substantially lifted the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to rein in spending and bring inflation under control. The resulting spike in interest rates sharply reduced borrowing power and dampened buyer demand,” he said.
“Since then, the higher prices and tighter lending conditions have made it more difficult for first-home buyers to enter the market, while decreasing values and reduced yields curbed investor activity. The Ōpōtiki District experienced strong growth during that boom and has since undergone corrections.”
“By June 2025, the market in Ōpōtiki was relatively subdued, which reflects the general trend across the country. While the OCR has recently seen a few cuts and interest rates are trending down again, other significant economic headwinds continue to deter growth. Job insecurity and cost-of-living pressures have weighed on household confidence. Combined with ongoing global uncertainty and weaker buyer sentiment, what was a sellers’ market in early 2022 has shifted to a buyers’ market in 2025.”
He added that the housing market was relatively flat, with a low volume of transactions. There is reasonable stock at the entry-level/lower end of the market. “Sales at the middle to high end have been limited, and values at this level are generally holding, depending on the nature of a property’s improvements and modernisation. The demand for vacant land has declined significantly.”
“The commercial market has been very subdued over the last two years, with limited demand for retail and office space. Older, larger buildings requiring earthquake strengthening have had greater falls in value.”
“The industrial market is quiet, with existing industries continuing to service the district,” Mr Power added. “Overall, commercial properties have decreased in capital value by 15%, and industrial properties have decreased by 12%,” he said.
Within the rural sectors, demand for pastoral farms remains weak, with very low sales volumes since the last revaluation. Dairy and horticulture are the preferred land uses in this area, with most pastoral interest arising only where conversion to one of these higher-performing land uses is financially viable.
Dairy generally attracts stronger demand, resulting in less market appetite for pastoral land in comparison, while horticultural developments – particularly kiwifruit – remain a major investment drawcard in the Bay of Plenty. Overall, dairy farm properties have decreased in capital value by 0.5%, and pastoral properties have decreased by 9.3%. Horticultural properties have decreased by just under 5%, coming off a high value base in 2022.
The Ōpōtiki lifestyle property market has also experienced a correction since peaking in 2022, with values dipping in 2023 before stabilising and showing early signs of recovery in 2024. While overall market activity has been more subdued than in previous high-growth years, there remains steady demand, particularly from retiring farmers downsizing from larger rural holdings and urban buyers seeking a rural lifestyle.
Listings offering coastal and expansive rural views continue to attract strong interest, with these attributes seen as premium features. Values tend to soften the further east along the coast from Ōpōtiki township, reflecting increased isolation and reduced access to amenities; however, prices often lift again near small settlements where available services provide added appeal, particularly where deep-sea fishing opportunities are accessible nearby. Overall, the lifestyle category has decreased by just under 3%.
The effective rating revaluation date of 1 June 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 June 2025.
The updated rating valuations are independently audited by the Office of the Valuer-General and must meet rigorous quality standards before the new rating valuations are certified. They are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.
