DESPITE the ongoing drought plaguing regional NSW, the state’s rural land value has seen a large increase off the back of strong commodity prices.
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Statewide, rural land prices have increased 14.4 per cent, while in the North West rose by 11.2 per cent, according to the latest report by the Acting NSW Valuer General.
It reflects an overall increase in the North West, where the total land value for residential, commercial, industrial, rural and other, increased by 8.5 per from 2017 to 2018.
The North West region’s total land value is worth more than $20 billion dollars, which represents just over 60,800 properties.
The region’s 14,000 rural properties make up the vast majority of the total value at $15 billion.
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Overall, residential land values in the region were steady (1.4 per cent), with slight increases in the Tamworth Regional (2.1 per cent) and Gwydir (3.7 per cent) local government areas (LGAs).
Commercial land values also experienced a slight overall increase (2.4 per cent), and were steady across most LGAs – with the exception of a strong increase in the Walgett LGA (14.6 per cent) and a slight rise in the Tamworth LGA (4.2 per cent).
The region’s industrial land value increase of 4.2 per cent was driven by the Walgett, Gunnedah and Tamworth LGAs (between 4.8 and 5 per cent).
Acting NSW Valuer General Michael Parker said property sales were the most important factor considered by valuers when determining land values.
“It is important to note that land value is the value of the land only, and does not include the value of a home or other structures,” Mr Parker said.
Despite the backdrop of drought, Mr Parker said regional land values performed very well.
“That’s due to strong commodity prices for wool and wheat,” he said.
The new set of data, which was calculated based on what the land was worth on July 1, 2018, will be used by Revenue NSW to calculate land tax.
Most councils are using land values from July 2016 for rating.