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Suburb profile · Canterbury · NZ

Highfield North NZ

Highfield North is in Canterbury, New Zealand, with population 2,376.

The read

Affordability-first

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.

$475/wk
1/04/2021 → 1/01/2026 · 20 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$555
$360
1/04/20211/01/2026
Median rent
$513/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D2 vs NZ
Population
2,376
2K local footprint
D6 vs NZ
Income
$37K/yr
Median personal income
D4 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 5
Mid-range deprivation
D5 vs NZ
Schools
1
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$504K
+30.2% over 5yr
1.4%YoY
Lower quartile
$417K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
4,001
QV-based HPI
22.0%5yr
Income to buy
6.6x
Years of median income
Annual sales
915
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$2,338/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
37%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
8.9 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$2,456
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$2,229
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$2,338
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$2,381

A territorial-authority estimate: the Timaru District 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 Highfield North-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr +1.6%5yr +20.9%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Timaru District 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 Timaru District 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 Highfield North, not a Highfield North-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents rising
Low · 2020Peak · 2025

3.1% below peak rent · 35.7% above its low

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +1.8%/yr · 5-yr +4.6%/yr

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

Personal income

$37K personal · yr-9.9% vs Canterbury suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
198
$10,001-$20,000
198
$20,001-$30,000
447
$30,001-$50,000
375
$50,001-$70,000
312
$70,001-$100,000
255
$100,001 or more
228

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-1.1pp since 2013
2013
76% owned
2018
76% owned
2023
75% owned

6.2% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

11% damp (-4pp vs 2018) and 7% with visible mould larger than A4 (-2pp 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

49,100 people · 202351,000 by 2033 (+3.9%)

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

Crime

Rate · per 100k2,763
Total incidents1,314· 2026-05
  • Assault18039%
  • Burglary22849%
  • Robbery174%
  • Sexual Assault368%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Low
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
32.6 km
Unnamed

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Highfield North'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

8
active listings · ~3.4 per 1,000 residents
75%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
13%
run by multi-listing operators

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
Students411
State : Integrated1
  • Craighead Diocesan SchoolSecondary (Year 7-15) · State : Integrated

Livability

23/ 100 livability index

Top 77% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 23% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access64
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 · 75/100 · top 25% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 75% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth73
Rental yield70
Stability52

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

Higher income

personal median · cross-TA

Less deprived

lower NZDep decile · 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
1
1 houses · 0 units
80.0%YoY D1 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
1,149
Was 1,137 in 2018
1.1%vs 2018 D5 vs NZ

Full data detail

Highfield North Canterbury — Property Data and Demographics

Highfield North is a small suburb in Canterbury with a population of 2,376 and a median age of 51. Median personal income is $37K 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 1,137 in 2018 to 1,149 in 2023 (+1.1%), 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 Highfield North is $513 (513 houses, 440 units). This represents approximately 71% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Highfield North: NZDep decile 5 (moderate deprivation); 1 school with avg EQI 409.

In 2026, Highfield North recorded 1 building approval (1 house, 0 units), down 80% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability71% Stretched
School QualityEQI 409· Average
DeprivationDecile 5· Moderate
Development-80% Slowing
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$513
House · wk$513
Unit · wk$440
Rent / income71.3%
Lodgements27
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)1
Houses1
YoY change-80%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population2,376
Median age51
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$37,400
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived5/10
NZDep score968

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European2,118
Māori165
Asian132
Pacific Peoples69
MELAA30
Top industriesCensus 23
Manufacturing174
Health Care and Social Assistance150
Construction129
Retail Trade105
Education and Training96
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets1
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations1
Cafes & dining1
new world1
Hospitals · Timaru DistrictMoH
Timaru HospitalPublic Hospital
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Highfield North 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 · 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.

Highfield North FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the typical weekly rent in Highfield North?

    The median weekly rent in Highfield North is $513/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 Highfield North?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 71% 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 Highfield North?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Highfield North show: Stretched, Average, Moderate. These are based on rent affordability, school EQI, NZDep deprivation index, and transport access.

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Highfield North?

    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 Highfield North 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.