WILDLY varying spikes in rural land valuations in the Mid Western Regional Shire has prompted NSW Land and Property Information to conduct a review, on behalf of Valuer-General Philip Western.
Property valuations in some cases have more than trebled in the farmland category and Mid Western Regional mayor Des Kennedy said he was concerned with the lack of consistency.
“Some valuations have gone up alarmingly, others went down,” he said.
Despite the fact the Valuer-General had said some land sales had been made for mining or mining offsets were not taken into account, Cr Kennedy believed this had in some cases contributed to the higher values.
“There is no consistency in the valuations at all,” he said.
Cr Kennedy urged all landholders who believed their valuation was incorrect to object to the Valuer-General’s office.
“It is the responsibility of each individual farmer to punch away at the Valuer-General’s department if they don’t think the valuation is true and correct for their block of land,” he said.
A spokesman for the Valuer-General confirmed NSW Land and Property Information was examining the July 1, 2011, rural land values in the Mid Western Regional Council in relation to “the available market evidence” and said there was no set date for completion.
“Sales evidence analysed by the rating and taxing valuation contractor, within the rural market over the past four years, has shown that there have been significant increases in property values over that period,” the spokesman said.
“A range of sales evidence was analysed to establish the land values as at July 1, 2011.
“Information gained from this analysis was used to value benchmark (representative) properties and establish the change in values since the last valuation.
“This change is then applied to other properties within the component (groups of properties that are expected to move similarly in the market).”
The spokesman said there were no other reviews of other shires underway.
NSW Farmers Mudgee district council chairman Mitchell Clapham “Hazelbrook”, Ilford, owns two similar grazing properties about 10 kilometres apart.
The valuation of one of the properties jumped from about $600,000 to about $1.1 million while the other remained at the 2007 level.
While he objected and had the higher valuation last week reduced to $790,000, Mr Clapham said his experience was indicative of the apparent fluctuations in the valuations of farmland in the Mid Western Regional Council area.
Mr Clapham was concerned his neighbours who did not object would now be forced into paying higher rates, and said the Valuer-General needed to do an investigation into the wider region.
Mr Clapham said he was also concerned with the “convoluted and difficult” objection process, which did not allow him to use the fact that his two similar properties had wildly different valuations as grounds for an objection.
“You have to find a ‘comparable’ property that has sold, and use that as the basis of your objection for your value,” he said.
“Now that can be difficult. What we’ve tried to get through to them is we’re in an area where there is a lot of mining exploration.
“We’re really concerned that mining sales are what’s driving a lot of the valuation increases which is totally unfair from a mining perspective.”
David Clarke, “Mt Brace”, Rylstone, had an increase of about 50 per cent in the valuation of his 1200-hectare property.
Mr Clarke said he was concerned the farmland valuations across the Mid Western Regional Council were “a bit of a mystery, a lottery”.
“It’s difficult to work out the rhyme or reasoning, how these changes in valuations have happened,” he said.
Mr Clarke is concerned offsets purchased for mining projects were being used as part of justification for increases to land values.
Mid Western Regional councillor John Webb, Cooyal Station, Mud-
gee, believes the objection process doesn’t allow landholders concerned with the valuation to compare “apples with apples”.
“The absence of sales directly comparable to your property is not a valid ground for objection,” Cr Webb said.
“They’re not asking you to compare apples to apples – you’ve got to find a property that’s sold for less than the land value price.”
Cr Webb also believed mining purchases had in some cases influenced the higher valuations.
“Why has some of this grazing country been valued so high? Does that mean they were wrong in 2007, or right now? Or are they wrong now? I suspect it’s a bit of both,” he said.
“Why have some valuations been put up 200-odd per cent when others are down 50pc?
“I don’t think it’s fair or right and I want an explanation for that.”
Landholders who have questions in regard to their land’s value are encouraged to contact the valuation customer service centre on 1800 110 138.
