I’m feeling very cross about receiving a 26% land valuation increase (over the value at the same time last year). Everything I am reading in the papers says that house prices in Queensland have dropped more than 6% so why is the land valuation (on which rateable value is based) going up so much?
The land valuation for this property is now well above what the property with the house on it was valued at 10 years ago. That is not a benefit. That means higher rates. It means higher fees if we tried to sell. It also is happening elsewhere so selling is not a wise option because we’d be having to pay a lot to get into anywhere else. It is the same housethe same property the same amenity to the people who live in it but higher valuation entitles the government to bigger property-related taxes on it and increases out vulnerability – reduces our resilience because we are working to become more sustainable. These sorts of land valuation increases are working in the opposite direction towards less sustainability.
I read in the paper that Ferny Grove has recorded a big land valuation increase because of the Ferny Grove Station upgrade.
Let me get this clear. They demolish the Ferny Grove Tavern (thereby removing about 400 “social seats” and about 200 “social car parks” in our community); they put us through many months of being scarcely able to get in and out of our suburb and parking at the Station being reduced to nil; they do all this to provide parking for people at Samford and outlying districts while locals can never park in the daytime at the Station…
…and now people in Ferny Grove are being told this justifies raising our rates a whole heap!!!???
What do I think when I read this stuff? I think: Yet another example of the amenity cost to us all of POPULATION GROWTH!
This isn’t a benefit to the people who are already living here. It is a direct cost to us. It is a reduction in our lifestyle and an increase in our cost of living for no increase in benefit. And there is a lot of chaos to put up with for a long time while work is done at the Station.