One of the first questions people ask us is how we come up with a number. It’s a fair thing to want to understand — particularly when you may have received conflicting signals from rateable values, EQC payouts, real estate agents, and conversations with neighbours who sold down the street.
A common assumption is that what EQC paid out — or didn’t — will have a direct bearing on what a buyer offers. For most buyers, that might be true. For us, it isn’t. We work from the property itself, not from any of those other figures. Our methodology is consistent, transparent, and based on what the home is actually worth in the current market once it’s been repaired. Here’s how it works in practice — and why some of the numbers you might have been given elsewhere aren’t as reliable as they seem.
The method behind the offer
When we assess an As Is Where Is property, we start in the same place every time: what is this home worth when it’s been repaired and returned to the market?
To answer that, we look at comparable sales — properties nearby that are similar in size and condition — to establish a realistic end value. From there, we go out and quote the actual cost of repairs. Where engineering is involved, as it often is with earthquake-affected homes, that’s part of the estimate too. End value minus repair costs minus our margin gives us the offer.
That methodology doesn’t change based on what insurance paid out years ago. Whatever you received from EQC or your insurer is yours — it reflects your policy wording and the circumstances at the time. Our offer reflects the current cost of repair and the current market value of the finished home.
Why rateable value isn’t a reliable guide either
The RV on your property is a figure the council uses to calculate rates. It’s calculated across a broad dataset and updated periodically — which means it can lag behind the actual market significantly in either direction. We look at it as a reference point, but it isn’t something we base an offer on.
A property with an RV of $500,000 might realistically be worth $600,000 on today’s market. Another with an RV of $800,000 might only attract $700,000. This is why registered valuers still exist — because a genuine valuation draws from actual recent sales of comparable nearby properties, not a formula applied across the region.
The difference between market value and As Is Where Is value
Market value is what a fully repaired, market-ready version of your property would sell for today. As Is Where Is value is that same figure, adjusted for the cost of getting the property to that condition.
The gap between the two is determined by the work required — not by what anyone has previously paid out, what the council thinks it’s worth, or what a real estate agent suggests it might achieve on a good day.
You don’t need to arrange your own valuation before you call us
As part of our process, we provide you with what we believe the end value of the property is in current market conditions, and the As Is Where Is value as it stands today. That information is yours to keep. Some people take it away and get a second opinion, which is completely fine — and in most cases, the figures align closely.
If you’ve been told your home is worth a certain amount but the As Is Where Is offers you’ve received don’t seem to reflect that, it’s worth understanding the method behind the number. We’re happy to walk through how we’ve reached ours.
We have helped over 450 Canterbury homeowners move forward from difficult property situations. The feedback we hear most consistently is that the process felt stress-free, fair, and more straightforward than people expected — and that dealing directly with Kane and Ronan made a real difference. For us, it has always been about more than buying houses. It is about helping people move forward with confidence and giving them the fresh start they have been looking for.
If you have a property you would like to talk through, we are happy to have a conversation with no obligation on your part.
Call us on 0800 697 827 or visit mynewstart.co.nz/contact.
