Auckland’s poorest suburbs hardest hit by rates increases

Property owners in some of Auckland’s poorest suburbs face rates rises of around 13% after Auckland Council’s latest property valuations, Stuff reveals. This was not an evenly spread increase, so some areas of the city would see much higher rates than others. In Henderson-Massey, the average increase would be 12.9%, or $321 a year more. The average income of this area was $35,200, which is well short of more affluent areas like Devonport at $45,800. Rates for Devonport-Takapuna rates were expected to increase by 4.6%.