I thought it was timely to give everyone an update on what's happening out there in the market with real estate. We're coming to the end of another year and the new RV's (rateable value) have been issued for the whole of Lower Hutt. Upper Hutt came out approx 2 months ago. So grouping the 2 cities together, here's a market snapshot to clarify what these actually mean to you.
The RV's are, as an average, up approx 30-35% on the old ones from 3 years ago.
RV's are the figure that Councils use to base their rates costs/bills on. They generally vary a lot - if you have done work on your property that required consent, then your RV has probably gone up more percentage wise. Or if your area/suburb has become more popular and has pushed purchase prices up more compared to other suburbs, then this to may mean your RV has increased more percentage wise.
Up to the new RV's being released, the purchasing prices for properties was way out of sync compared to the RV. Most were selling $100k - $300k above. It's fair to say that they are a lot closer to the market now but there is still a large shortage of property in the Hutt Valley so depending on the condition of individual homes, sales are now selling under or over the new RV.
Example: 2-bedroom original 1970's home we have just sold in Upper Hutt. Cross Lease - back section home. Old RV - $275k. New RV (2 months old) - $405k. Sold - $503k. So as you can see it's still not really an indication of the selling price.
Many will be noticing a lot of new builds being built at the moment all over the Hutt Valley. It's still not enough. The area has a major shortage of properties available and in particular the lower value/first home market. We're getting 50 to 70 buyers through open homes during a marketing campaign and only one buyer can purchase it. The rest carry on and try to find another one. There's also a shortage of single level townhouses for older couples who's families have moved on and they need to downsize. So we are seeing them stay in their properties longer....yet another reason for lesser number of properties on the market.
Until this supply shortage changes, I can't see the market dropping at all. In fact prices are still increasing around the city. Hope this helps clarify.