You have probably heard about the property cycle and that house prices have fallen, but may be recovering, and perhaps there is another recession on the horizon... how is that going to affect property prices? Perhaps the feeling is that now, with so much uncertainty around, is not the best time to buy...

Now is actually as good a time as any to buy a home if you have a stable income. Sure prices may fall, but they will also go up again and if you have a long term view, this normal cycle of house prices doesn’t really matter. Nobody really knows what is going to happen and you could wait forever trying to predict the best time to buy.

Especially when you are talking about buying a home (not an investment property) if you buy and sell in the same market (i.e. around the same time) you are going to get value for money.

If you want to wait until house prices stabilise - then one rule that you could use is to buy when prices start consistently going up again. Checking the Quotable Value Data that comes out every month is the best way to find this out, you can even subscribe to get these statistics emailed to you.

You can be confident that if you buy a house right now you will be paying less then for the same house 2 - 3 years ago and now you may even be able to afford a house in a suburb that was previously out of your reach - and you definitely have more negotiating power in the current market.

We have some more food for thought in our 'Thinking About Buying' section of the Propertytoolbox House Buying Guide.

Just how much should you pay for a house? This is really up to you to decide - BUT the more information you have to hand about the about the house itself, about comparable properties, about the state of the housing market, and about how all of these things will reflect on the value of the house - the more informed a decision you can make about the worth of a house.

A few Blog articles in 2010 touched on things that might help you work out the value of a house and here they are again for you to browse over:

1. How Much Should I Pay For A House?

This article has links to a number of resources you can use to work out market value and gives some tips and suggestions on what you should think about when you are working out the price you want to pay for a house. So if you are trying to work out the money bit check out the article ‘How much should I pay for a house?’

2. The RV and House Price

The RV of a house can be a bit of a wild card when it comes to working out what a house is worth – sometimes it is best to ignore the RV altogether – while other times it can be spot on! In our article ‘Is the RV a price guide’ we tell all about what the RV is and how it can (or can’t) be use to determine market value.

3. What Are House Prices Doing?

There are many things that can influence the housing market – the state of the economy, interest rates and house prices themselves are the obvious ones. In this Blog article we point you towards some good analysis of factors influencing the housing market – there are some things in here that may surprise you! Check it out – ‘House prices in NZ – where are they going?’

This is the last Propertytoolbox Blog article for 2010 – we will be back in the middle of January with some more great highlights from 2010 – and we are looking forward to bringing you some more meaty house buying information in the Blog in 2011. Don’t forget – you can always reference the house buying guide for good basic house buying advice anytime you need it. See you next year!

The Rateable Value of a house (or RV) is often quoted in the advertising for a house for sale - the suggestion is that it provides some kind of indication of the market value of the house - but does it?

What is the RV?

The RV is the rateable value or the 'value' of a house set by the local authority for the purpose of determining and allocating rates. The RV is also sometimes known as the government valuation (GV) or capital value (CV).

Why is the Rateable Value Quoted in House Adverts

Real estate agents often mention the RV in advertising, most often this is because people like to know the rateable value! But sometimes it is because the real estate agent or home owner feels that the RV is a good indication of the market value of the house. The RV's relationship to the market value of the house is ultimately up to you to decide, here are some things to consider:

Rateable Value v Price

The rateable value doesn't usually take into account anything that makes a property better or worse than others in the area, for example condition of the house and land, chattels included, landscaping improvements, and so on. Sometimes the RV is a good rough-guide of value but other times it is completely irrelevant.




An RV can be very out of date! RV's are done at least every 3 years - this can be a long time in the property market. Check the date of the rateable value - it may be 2+ years old - and not relevant in the current market.

Should I Use The RV as a Price Guide?

As a rule, you should only use the rateable value in combination with other information, like your own experience or a registered property valuation. If you are looking for the rateable value of a house - you can find out rateable value information on your local council's website for free.

Property Valuation and Rateable Values

One last thing! A registered property valuation done by a registered valuer is not a rateable value or a RV, and a registered valuation should not be referred to as an RV. To find a registered valuer - visit Property Valuation NZ.

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The Propertytoolbox Home Buyers Guide

This information about the RV as a price guide was from the resources section of Property Valuation NZ – the home of the property valuer profile – making it easy for you to make a good decision when choosing a local property valuer.