Building the Connections Behind Honiara’s Property Revaluation

BEHIND the technical work of revaluing properties across Honiara is another important task: bringing together the people and institutions whose knowledge, cooperation and information will help make the process work.

For Leigh Halstead, the CAUSE II Project’s Valuation Technical Advisor, this has meant spending time with government officials, Honiara City Council, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey (MLHS), and other key stakeholders involved in land, planning and property management.

“It has been a pleasure to meet Valuer General Helena Joyce Siosi and her team. I enjoy meeting and working with people towards a common goal,” Leigh said.

More than a technical exercise

The revaluation of Honiara is a complex undertaking. It requires information from different parts of government and close cooperation between agencies to ensure property valuations are based on reliable and up-to-date information.

Since beginning his work, Leigh has met with a range of key stakeholders, including Honiara City Council Chief Executive Justus Denni, the Council’s Treasurer Silas Rodie and Chief Planner John Wantenia.

Discussions have focused on the importance of keeping information flowing between the different organisations involved and ensuring that everyone understands their role in the revaluation process.

At MLHS, Leigh has also worked closely with the Valuer General Helena Joyce Siosi and her team, as well as other senior officials and technical staff.

Engagements with the Surveyor General Leslie Volalea, planning officers and other stakeholders have provided opportunities to better understand the information available across the different agencies and how it can contribute to the valuation process.

For Leigh, these connections are an essential part of the work.

Supporting fairer and more transparent valuations

At the heart of the revaluation is a simple objective: ensuring that properties in Honiara are valued using current and reliable information.

Once completed, the revaluation will provide an updated basis for Honiara City Council to review property rates, while also supporting the Land Board in reviewing premiums and rents in accordance with government policy.

Leigh, a Registered Valuer specialising in mass appraisal valuation, valuation roll revision, and rating system design, has more than two decades of experience across New Zealand’s central and local government sectors. He also worked as a former manager of both the largest rural valuation office (VNZHamilton) and the largest urban valuation office (QV Auckland), leading teams responsible for mass appraisal delivery, valuation roll maintenance, sales analysis and statutory compliance.

“Revaluations are an essential tool that enable councils to raise revenue for vital services, while supporting regulatory functions such as building consents and market oversight,” he said.

The work is therefore about more than determining the value of individual properties. It is about creating a stronger and more consistent information base to support decisions around land, property rates, rentals and urban planning.

As the revaluation progresses, the relationships being built between the people and institutions involved may prove just as important as the technical work itself.

For Leigh, that is one of the most rewarding parts of the assignment: bringing people together around a common goal and helping build a valuation system that is fairer, more transparent and better equipped to support Honiara’s future.

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