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Suburb profile · Canterbury · NZ

Governors Bay NZ

Governors Bay is in Canterbury, New Zealand, with population 882.

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.

Why it fits

Lower deprivation supports a livability-led read.

What to check

Small local population makes the signal set more fragile.

Median rent
$520/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D3 vs NZ
Population
882
882 local footprint
D2 vs NZ
Income
$55K/yr
Median personal income
D10 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 1
Lower deprivation
D1 vs NZ
Schools
1
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$687K
+33.8% over 5yr
3.2%YoY
Lower quartile
$566K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
3,399
QV-based HPI
28.1%5yr
Income to buy
7.7x
Years of median income
Annual sales
9,448
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$3,184/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
43%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
10.2 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$3,346
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$3,036
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$3,184
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$3,243

A territorial-authority estimate: the Christchurch City 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 Governors Bay-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr +3.9%5yr +23.6%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Christchurch City 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 Christchurch City 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 Governors Bay, not a Governors Bay-specific sale price.

Personal income

$55K personal · yr+32.5% vs Canterbury suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
108
$10,001-$20,000
60
$20,001-$30,000
72
$30,001-$50,000
111
$50,001-$70,000
99
$70,001-$100,000
135
$100,001 or more
162

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+2.0pp since 2013
2013
90% owned
2018
89% owned
2023
92% owned

12.2% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

8% damp (-3pp vs 2018) and 5% with visible mould larger than A4 (-3pp 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

407,700 people · 2023445,700 by 2033 (+9.3%)

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

Crime

Rate · per 100k8,295
Total incidents32,463· 2026-05
  • Assault2,64928%
  • Burglary6,16764%
  • Robbery3944%
  • Sexual Assault4104%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Low
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
22.6 km
Greendale Fault
Fault slip rate
Low
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Governors Bay'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.

Short-term rentals

10
active listings · ~11.3 per 1,000 residents
100%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
0%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$173
median nightly (entire home)
24%
estimated occupancy
$14,075
estimated annual revenue (gross)

Active Airbnb listings point-mapped to this suburb from Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0). Occupancy and revenue are estimates from Inside Airbnb's San Francisco model (review-rate proxy, minimum-stay assumption, occupancy capped at 70%) — they are gross, indicative, and not a guarantee of returns. Short-stay letting is subject to state and local regulation.

Schools

Total1
Students93
State1
  • Te Kura o Ōhinetahi - Governors BayFull Primary · State

Livability

14/ 100 livability index

Top 86% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 14% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access38
Public transport0
Schools & hospitals32

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

Bgrade · 61/100 · top 39% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 61% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth78
Rental yield42
Stability31

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.

Stronger alternatives nearby

Cheaper to rent

lower weekly rent · cross-TA

Alternatives are similar-rent suburbs (0.6–1.6x this suburb's median rent) in other territorial authorities that exceed it on the named metric. Indicative — not financial advice.

Building activity

Latest consents
0
0 houses · 0 units
100.0%YoY

Employment

Employed residents
525
Was 519 in 2018
1.2%vs 2018 D2 vs NZ

Full data detail

Governors Bay Canterbury — Property Data and Demographics

Governors Bay is a small community in Canterbury with a population of 882 and a median age of 50. Median personal income is $55K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Māori, Asian. Canterbury population estimates moved +1.1% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +2.1% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 519 in 2018 to 525 in 2023 (+1.2%), 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 Governors Bay is $520 (520 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 49% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Governors Bay: NZDep decile 1 (low deprivation (affluent)); 1 school with avg EQI 386.

In 2026, Governors Bay recorded 0 building approvals (0 houses, 0 units), down 100% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability49% Stretched
School QualityEQI 386 Above Average
DeprivationDecile 1 Low
Development-100% Slowing
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2020)$520
House · wk$520
Rent / income49.2%
Lodgements12
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)0
YoY change-100%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population882
Median age50
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$55,000
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived1/10
NZDep score894

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European849
Māori48
Asian18
MELAA15
Pacific Peoples9
Top industriesCensus 23
Professional, Scientific and Technical87
Health Care and Social Assistance72
Manufacturing48
Education and Training48
Public Administration and Safety45
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining2
Hospitals · Christchurch CityMoH
Burwood HospitalPublic Hospital
Christchurch HospitalPublic Hospital
Christchurch Women's HospitalPublic Hospital
Hillmorton HospitalPublic Hospital
The Princess Margaret HospitalPublic Hospital
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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

There is enough direct local evidence on Governors Bay 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 · 1/01/2020 · Bond market dataset
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Schools
MoE school directory · 1 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 · No matched local transport stops
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
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.

Governors Bay FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the typical weekly rent in Governors Bay?

    The median weekly rent in Governors Bay is $520/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 Governors Bay?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 49% 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 Governors Bay?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Governors Bay show: Stretched, Above Average, Low. These are based on rent affordability, school EQI, NZDep deprivation index, and transport access.

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Governors Bay?

    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 Governors Bay 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.