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Suburb profile · Auckland · NZ

Ōtara West NZ

Ōtara West is in Auckland, New Zealand, with population 3,120.

The read

Livability-led

There are enough weaker signals here that you should expect trade-offs, not a clean local story. Compare it directly with stronger nearby suburbs before treating it as a preferred option.

$600/wk
1/01/2020 → 1/01/2026 · 17 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$700
$543
1/01/20201/01/2026
Why it fits

School coverage gives the page a stronger family/livability signal. Transport coverage adds a practical access signal.

Median rent
$600/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D6 vs NZ
Population
3,120
3K local footprint
D9 vs NZ
Income
$29K/yr
Median personal income
D1 vs NZ
NZDep
No deprivation index
Schools
3
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$945K
+1.1% over 5yr
1.4%YoY
Lower quartile
$757K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
3,054
QV-based HPI
9.3%5yr
Income to buy
8.4x
Years of median income
Annual sales
23,116
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$4,383/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
47%
of gross household income
Stress level
Severe
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
11.1 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$4,606
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$4,179
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$4,383
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$4,465

A territorial-authority estimate: the Auckland median sale price on a 20% deposit and 30-year loan, against the TA median household income implied by HUD's income-to-buy ratio, at RBNZ new-mortgage rates. A market-wide guide, not a Ōtara West-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -2.9%5yr -11.8%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Auckland territorial authority (monthly, Jan 2007 = 1000). A valuation-based index of price movement over time — distinct from the actual median sale price above.

Years of median household income to buy

Figures are for the Auckland territorial authority (as at 2026-03). New Zealand has no free suburb-level sale-price series, so these are TA-wide medians from HUD Local Housing Statistics (LINZ District Valuation Roll + Stats NZ) — a market backdrop for Ōtara West, not a Ōtara West-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents easing
Low · 2020Peak · 2025

14.3% below peak rent · 9.1% above its low

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +0.6%/yr · 5-yr +1.8%/yr

Rent trend is derived from MBIE tenancy-bond medians and excludes suburbs with too few bonds to be reliable.

Personal income

$29K personal · yr-35.3% vs Auckland suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
558
$10,001-$20,000
297
$20,001-$30,000
300
$30,001-$50,000
483
$50,001-$70,000
390
$70,001-$100,000
177
$100,001 or more
51

Median individual income. NZ has no suburb-level household-income or sale-price data, so this is a personal-income benchmark, not a household-affordability measure. Distribution covers people aged 15+ with stated income; counts are randomly rounded to base 3.

Housing stock and tenure

Home ownership over three censuses+0.2pp since 2013
2013
23% owned
2018
22% owned
2023
24% owned

4.3% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

51% damp (-5pp vs 2018) and 46% with visible mould larger than A4 (-4pp vs 2018).

Investor-specific data (gearing, investor concentration) is not published for NZ suburbs — the tenure trend above is the available investor signal.

Population outlook

93,900 people · 2023110,200 by 2033 (+17.4%)

Stats NZ subnational projection (2023 base, medium series) for Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.

Crime

Rate · per 100k6,059
Total incidents100,370· 2026-05
  • Assault10,47534%
  • Burglary17,74757%
  • Robbery1,6495%
  • Sexual Assault1,1024%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Moderate
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
13.6 km
Waikopua Fault
Fault slip rate
Very Low
Higher = more active
Flood exposure
Low
Modelled flood plains (1% AEP)
Area in flood plain
6%
Share of suburb sampled

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Ōtara West's centre to the nearest mapped active fault (GNS Science NZ Active Faults Database) — an area estimate, not a site-specific seismic assessment. NZ's full ground-shaking model (NSHM) is not available as a queryable map layer. Flood exposure is the share of an interior sample grid falling within Auckland Council's modelled flood plains (1% annual-exceedance-probability) — an estimate, not a property-level flood certificate. NZ publishes flood data per council; coverage here is Auckland only.

Schools

Total3
Students526
State2
State : Integrated1
  • Bairds Mainfreight Primary SchoolContributing · StateZoned
  • St John the Evangelist Catholic SchoolFull Primary · State : Integrated
  • Te Hikoi Activity CentreActivity Centre · StateZoned

2 of 3 schools here operate published enrolment zones (catchments). Zone boundaries set eligibility — check the official source for the exact catchment. Not enrolment advice.

Livability

85/ 100 livability index

Top 15% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 85% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access23
Public transport (12 stops)68
Schools & hospitals89

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer

Suburb-level access-density index (not an address-level walk-time score), normalised within New Zealand suburbs. Method based on the Urban Liveability Index (Higgs et al. 2019) and Walk Score — three equal-weighted domains combined with an imbalance penalty.

Investment grade

Fgrade · 9/100 · top 91% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 9% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth5
Rental yield13
Stability44

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer

District-level grade across New Zealand territorial authorities, combining 5-year price growth, rental yield (district median rent vs district median price), and stability (price-to-income level + affordability trajectory) via the same three-pillar method with an imbalance penalty. New Zealand has no free suburb-level prices, so this reflects your area's territorial authority. Within-New-Zealand relative, indicative only — not financial advice.

Building activity

Latest consents
5
1 houses · 4 units
16.7%YoY D6 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
1,164
Was 1,197 in 2018
2.8%vs 2018 D6 vs NZ

Full data detail

Ōtara West Auckland — Property Data and Demographics

Ōtara West is a small suburb in Auckland with a population of 3,120 and a median age of 26. Median personal income is $29K per year. The main ethnic groups are Pacific Peoples, Māori, European. Auckland population estimates moved +1.0% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +2.5% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 1,197 in 2018 to 1,164 in 2023 (-2.8%), which should be read as a census-to-census employment backdrop rather than a live jobs series. Te Waihanga's December 2025 Pipeline snapshot tracked over 12,000 NZ infrastructure initiatives, with more than 2,700 under construction and transport taking 52% of projected 2026 pipeline spend, which should be read as a broader national delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project list.

Median weekly rent in Ōtara West is $600 (600 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 108% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Ōtara West: 3 schools with avg EQI 522; 12 transport stops (12 bus).

In 2026, Ōtara West recorded 5 building approvals (1 house, 4 units), down 16.7% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability108% Stretched
School QualityEQI 522 Below Average
Transport Access12 stops· Some Access
Development-17%· Steady
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$600
House · wk$600
Rent / income107.6%
Lodgements24
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)5
Houses 20%Units 80%
YoY change-16.7%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population3,120
Median age26
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$29,000
EthnicityCensus 23
Pacific Peoples2,463
Māori822
European339
Asian132
MELAA9
Top industriesCensus 23
Manufacturing180
Transport, Postal and Warehousing147
Construction120
Wholesale Trade105
Administrative and Support99
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining1
TransportGTFS
Bus stops12
Hospitals · AucklandMoH
Auckland City HospitalPublic Hospital
Middlemore HospitalPublic Hospital
North Shore HospitalPublic Hospital
Waitakere HospitalPublic Hospital
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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Ōtara West carries enough direct local evidence for a first-pass decision.

NZ suburb pages combine Stats NZ, MBIE, MoE, GTFS, and pinned service coverage. The key difference is that some items are direct feeds, while others are fallback or snapshot layers.

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using MBIE bond data when present.

Treat current rent as a decision input, not as a guaranteed market quote.

HOSPITAL POSTURE
Hospital coverage comes from an official pinned snapshot.

This is a trusted coverage layer, but it is still a pinned snapshot rather than a live facility API.

TRANSPORT POSTURE
Transport is feed-based and depends on GTFS bundle coverage.

It is good for stop presence and local network context, but not a guarantee that every operator or schedule is equally current.

Data status
Weekly rent
MBIE rental bond data · 1/01/2026 · Bond market dataset
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Schools
MoE school directory · 3 schools matched
stable source · automated · every update · nightly
Available
Hospitals
Pinned Health NZ public hospital snapshot · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
NZ GTFS bundle · 12 matched stops
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Available
Building consents
Stats NZ building consents CSV · 2026 · Annual release series
Available
Demographic baseline
Stats NZ Census 2023 · Population, income, and demographic baseline
stable source · manual file · snapshot · census-cycle
Available
Available means a direct local source is linked. Verify means the page is using a weaker fallback or coverage-only snapshot, especially Census rent fallback or pinned hospital coverage.

Ōtara West FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the typical weekly rent in Ōtara West?

    The median weekly rent in Ōtara West is $600/wk, based on the MBIE market rent dataset. The current rent signal is income-stretched rent market.

  2. What does the rent signal say about Ōtara West?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 108% of annual income. Use this as a suburb screening signal before comparing candidates; the matching rent ranking can provide broader market context.

  3. What is the livability profile for Ōtara West?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Ōtara West show: Stretched, Below Average, Some Access. These are based on rent affordability, school EQI, NZDep deprivation index, and transport access.

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Ōtara West?

    Housing data comes from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). Demographics are from Stats NZ Census 2023. Schools data uses the Ministry of Education Equity Index (EQI). The deprivation score uses NZDep2018. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  5. How often is the Ōtara West data updated?

    RBNZ macro data updates with each deploy. Demographics are from NZ Census 2023. School EQI scores are from the Ministry of Education latest release.