Property Valuations in Melbourne

Property valuations across Melbourne

Metropolitan Melbourne takes in councils from the City of Melbourne, Yarra, Port Phillip and Stonnington in the inner suburbs, through Boroondara and Monash in the east, to growth areas such as Wyndham, Casey, Hume and Whittlesea on the city’s edge. A home in Boroondara and one in Wyndham are valued from quite different sales evidence, because each is compared with sales of comparable homes close by.

Your rates notice is not a market valuation

Every property in Victoria is valued each year by the Valuer-General Victoria for council rates and land tax, with values set as at 1 January. Your rates notice shows those values, and the State Revenue Office uses the site value for land tax. If you disagree with a rating valuation, you can object within two months of the notice being issued.

Those are annual valuations made across the whole state for rates and land tax, at a set date that may be many months ago. They are not prepared for a particular purpose such as capital gains tax, a transfer or a separation.

Land transfer duty and family transfers

In Victoria, land transfer duty is administered by the State Revenue Office. Under section 20 of the Duties Act 2000, duty is generally charged on the greater of the price paid and the property’s unencumbered value, which is what it might reasonably sell for on the open market. If you transfer a Melbourne property to a family member or a family trust for less than that, duty is generally worked out on market value unless an exemption or concession applies.

An independent valuation at the date of the transfer documents that value. The State Revenue Office says a valuation it asks for must be by a valuer certified by the Australian Property Institute, with experience valuing that type of property. For a related-party transfer it also accepts a licensed real estate agent’s letter of appraisal with a copy of the rate notice. Stamp duty valuations are quoted individually: contact us with the details, and we tell you in writing, before anything is agreed, whether we can take the work on.

Apartments and owners corporations

If an apartment or townhouse is part of an owners corporation, the valuer considers the lot, any car space or storage on the title, the building and sales of comparable lots nearby. Where a building is recently completed or most sales were off the plan, there can be little resale evidence, and a valuer would normally say so in the report.

Other reasons to value Melbourne property

• Capital gains tax and 30 June 2027: from 1 July 2027 the 50 per cent CGT discount is generally replaced for Australian resident individuals, trusts and partners. A valuation at 30 June 2027 may be useful to split a gain, and it is normally prepared after that date. See 30 June 2027 valuations.
• SMSF: market value for the fund’s annual accounts and the auditor. See SMSF valuations.
• Estates: probate in Victoria is granted by the Supreme Court of Victoria, and a value at the date of death helps with the estate’s accounts and distribution. See date of death valuations.
• Separation: family law property matters are heard by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, which sits in Melbourne and Dandenong. A business in the property pool usually needs a business valuation, separate from the property valuation. Family Law Valuations, also part of Valuation Group, values businesses for family law matters.