New rating valuations on the way for Horowhenua District
Published on December 11, 2025
Horowhenua 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 19,440 properties on behalf of the Horowhenua District Council by Quotable Value (QV).
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 is 1 August 2025.
On average, residential property values in the Horowhenua District have decreased by 12.1% over the three years since the previous effective revaluation date of 1 August 2022. The average home value is now $568,000, while the associated land value has also decreased 17.2% to $270,000.
QV Consultant Jason Hockly said, “While the new rating valuations show a decrease in property values over the past three years, most of this decline occurred in 2022 and early 2023 after the post-Covid peak of late 2021- early 2022. Since mid-2023, values in the district have been relatively stable.”
“Residential markets throughout the district have shown variable value changes since 2022. Capital Values (CVs) have decreased by between 5% to 20% depending on type and location, and land values have also seen variable decreases, with most on average down between 5% to 25%.”
“The commercial and industrial markets have been mostly stable since 2022, with any upward or downward variations being property specific.”
Hockly added, “Overall, commercial properties have decreased in capital value (CV) by 4.0%, and industrial properties have increased by 2.0%.”
In the rural sector, values have mostly remained steady across the district; however, there has been an average decrease of 20% for hill country land values.
District-wide averages show that dairy farms have decreased in capital value by 0.8%, with pastoral properties decreasing 2.6%. Horticultural properties have decreased by 4.0%, and forestry properties have decreased 2.4%.
Overall, the lifestyle category has decreased 13.8% on capital value (CV) and 12.6% on land value (LV).
What does this mean for you?
A change in your property’s value does not automatically mean your rates will go up or down.
The revaluation does not change the total amount of rates Council collects. Instead, it helps determine how that total is shared between properties. Whether your rates increase, decrease, or stay similar will depend on how your property’s value has changed compared with others across the district.
- If your value has dropped more than the district average, you may pay a slightly smaller share of rates.
- If your value has dropped less than average, your share may increase slightly.
- If your value has changed in line with the district average, your share is likely to stay similar.
Some parts of your rates are charged as a fixed amount per property, while others are linked directly to land value or capital value, which is why a change in valuation can affect properties differently.
New rating values can be viewed online at www.horowhenua.govt.nz/Revaluations and will be posted to property owners from 17 December 2025. If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have the right to object by 5 February 2026.
New values apply from 1 July 2026 for the 2026/27 rating year.
How does Horowhenua compare with the rest of New Zealand?
The changes in our District are broadly in line with trends across many parts of Aotearoa where property markets have softened following the post-COVID peak. Many Councils are experiencing flat or declining values, particularly in land values.
Rating revaluations are not the same as market valuations
The effective rating revaluation date of 1 August 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 August 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.
For more information on rating valuations, visit www.qv.co.nz/about/about-rating-valuations/# or, to object to a new rating valuation, visit www.qv.co.nz/services/rating-valuations/object-rating/.
Joint Media Release – Quotable Value (QV) | Horowhenua District Council