CITY VALUATIONS

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17112, 6 April 1921, Page 6

CITY VALUATIONS

SOME BIG INCREASES.

The revaluation of the city of Christchurch, a process just completed, is producing a chorus of dismay from pro-perty-owners who are not sellers, and who find their valuations increased enormously. In one case quoted, the owner of a city property now on lease with twenty years to run, will, on the new valuation, secure a return of not more than 4 per cent., and in another case, a shop property in High street, the owner is willing to sell at £2OOO less than the new valuation placed on the property. There are also many other cases, residential properties «s well as business premises, where the values have jumped up nearly 100 per cent.

It may be made clear at the outset that in the matter of valuations the Christchurch. City Council takes no part. The values are fixed by Government officials, members of the staff of the Valuation Department, and the Council simply strikes its rate up to no more than the legal limit on the valuations provided, but, of course, the higher the valuations the greater will be the income from rates.

One of the leading complaints made is that in the fixing of the new values outside experts were brought in to assist the local staff, and that such experts, nob knowing local conditions, assessed their, valuations on the standards ruling in their own centres, which it is contended were much higher than, those ruling in this city. Enquiry was made at the Ohristcliurch Valuation Office, a Government Department, as to the justification for this iatter complaint, and generally as to the principles followed in arriving at the new valuations'. The officer in charge, Mr Wiggins, repudiated heartily the notion that any but competent men were employed on the job. The staff, he said, consists of six men, only two of whom could be termed outsiders, one from Dunedin and one from Wellington. These men, however, were not outsiders or amateurs in the science of valuation. They were competent men, officers of' the Department, with long service, and were called in to assist in expediting the revaluation of the city. Even if it were admitted that they lacked ttio lengthy local knowledge possessed by the permanent staff, their work would not thereby be affected, for the 1 reason that all the valuations arrived at fcy the outside staff were subject to roview by the District Valuer, a man who has been here for years, and who knows every inch of the city. There was, therefore ; no_ chance 'of a foreign element being introduced into the standard. All values' were for the properties as they lay in Christchurch,' not what they would be worth if they wera located in a .corresponding street, say. in Auckland. In a recent compensation case, one of the' assisting valuers who gave expert evidence was cross-examined as to Ins lack of local knowledge, but his valuation was sustained by the Court, and all the low estimates of the other valuers were ruled out. That was an effective neply to the complaint of incompetenco or lack of knowledge. As to the principles on which the valuations were conducted, Mr Wiggins said such were laid down m the Valuation Act, according to which the selling value was the principal element to be considered. The Department were in possession of all information as to prices paid on the sales of properties, and the chief guide to the valuers was t)he idea of value of the property-owner* himself, 1 as expressed in the price paid; That was to say, property-owners to a large/extent made the valuations themselves. Of course, one sale did not fix values for a whole area, but. where the conditions corresponded, .the sale pricey as recorded, would be the basis'of valuation. There were other points taken into consideration, such, as, letting values, and generally every effort was made to arrive at a fair valuation on a market basis. No account, however, was taken of the manner in which a property might be tied up by a long lease. That was the business of the owner. He contracted to get a certain annual payment for the use of his property, and as the lessee paid the rates, it really did not matter to the owner how the valuation fluctuated, his return from the property was not affected, he still got what he bargained to get. - The only point where an increase in valuation .would affect him would be in relation to the payment of land tax. this was at the bottom of ihV objections made by the big owners, but the intrusion of the land tax element into local valuations could not be helped. Mr Wiggins pointed out. iu conclusion, that no dissatisfied owner had to accept the Department's valuation without- independent enquiry. Objections could be lodged, and the matter brought before the Court, who could reduce the amounts or allow them to stand.

A leading Jocal land agent said that some of the new valuations that had come under his notice involved an enormous increase over previous values, and objections would certainly bp lodged. It seemed to hiin that the valuers had taken the peak of inflation as the standard, whereas values were steadying every day. The argument that the selling; values, as indicated by prices paid should be the basis was not sound, for tho reason that in most cases of big city properties, and others, for that matter, special reasons operated to explain the big prices paid, and the actual prices were by no means indicative of the true .market values.

TYPICAL INCREASES. The instances given below indicate the extent of the increased valuations in respect of big properties in tho business area of the city:— Old ' New valuation, valuation. £ £

Strange and Co.'s Building, High and inchfifcld Unimproved 99,072 106,990 Ballantyne and Co.'s" Buildings, Cashol and Colombo streets — Capital ... 89,670 118,600 Unimproved 54,071 89,500 In the last-named example the unimproved valuo has increased by 64 per cent.

Al Hotel, with small building in t Cashol street joiningCapital 24,825 : 35.680 Unimproved 22,119 33,380 Stewart Dawson's Building, High street— ' • * Capital ... 1&,797 29,000 Unimproved 12,797 20,000 Bank of N.Z., Cathedral square and Hereford atrcet — Capital 68,830 85,000 Unimproved 51,237 67,000 United Service HotelCapital 65,500 / 74,500 Unimproved 39,986 . 49,000 Christchurch Press Co.'s Buildings, Square and Gloucester street — ■ Capital 31,880 41,160 Unimproved 11,872 17,160 Clarendon Hotel— Capital 17,060 24,380 Unimproved 7,256 11,880 Section adjoining Clarendon, Worcester street— Capital 4,620 7,270 Unimproved *,610 7,260 Royal Exchange Buildings— : Capital 5(5,800 64,020 Unimproved 19,790 71,020 Post Office Buildings— , Capital 57,500 57,500 Unimproved 33,200 33.200 property does'not increase in value. Federal Club, Worcester street— Capital . ... 9,955 Unimproved tlo,278 13,020 7.920