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Suburb profile · Canterbury · NZ

Islington NZ

Islington is in Canterbury, New Zealand, with population 960.

The read

Verify-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.

$495/wk
1/01/2020 → 1/10/2025 · 16 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/10/2025
$610
$370
1/01/20201/10/2025
What to check

Higher deprivation should be treated as a local-context caution. Small local population makes the signal set more fragile.

Median rent
$520/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D3 vs NZ
Population
960
960 local footprint
D2 vs NZ
Income
$39K/yr
Median personal income
D4 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 8
Higher deprivation
D8 vs NZ
Schools
No matched schools

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 Islington-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 Islington, not a Islington-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents at their peak
Low · 2020Peak · 2023

At / near its highest median rent on record

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +2.8%/yr · 5-yr +3.9%/yr

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

Personal income

$39K personal · yr-6.3% vs Canterbury suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
99
$10,001-$20,000
99
$20,001-$30,000
129
$30,001-$50,000
177
$50,001-$70,000
177
$70,001-$100,000
111
$100,001 or more
24

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-0.3pp since 2013
2013
67% owned
2018
69% owned
2023
67% owned

5.4% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

20% damp (-1pp vs 2018) and 12% 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

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
Moderate
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
11.6 km
Greendale Fault
Fault slip rate
Low
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Islington'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.

Livability

5/ 100 livability index

Top 95% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 5% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access23
Public transport (2 stops)22
Schools & hospitals0

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

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
50.0%YoY D1 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
537
Was 537 in 2018
0.0%vs 2018 D2 vs NZ

Full data detail

Islington Canterbury — Property Data and Demographics

Islington is a small community in Canterbury with a population of 960 and a median age of 37. Median personal income is $39K 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 537 in 2018 to 537 in 2023 (+0.0%), 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 Islington is $520 (520 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 70% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Islington: NZDep decile 8 (high deprivation); 2 transport stops (2 bus).

In 2026, Islington recorded 1 building approval (1 house, 0 units), down 50% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability70% Stretched
DeprivationDecile 8 High
Transport Access2 stops· Some Access
Development-50% Slowing
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/10/2025)$520
House · wk$520
Rent / income69.5%
Lodgements18
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)1
Houses1
YoY change-50%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population960
Median age37
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$38,900
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived8/10
NZDep score1038

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European666
Māori168
Asian168
Pacific Peoples84
MELAA9
Top industriesCensus 23
Manufacturing84
Construction60
Retail Trade48
Wholesale Trade45
Health Care and Social Assistance45
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining1
TransportGTFS
Bus stops2
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

Islington 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 · 1/10/2025 · Bond market dataset
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Schools
MoE school directory · No linked local school matches
stable source · automated · every update · nightly
Missing
Hospitals
Pinned Health NZ public hospital snapshot · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
NZ GTFS bundle · 2 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.

Islington FAQ

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

    The median weekly rent in Islington 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 Islington?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 70% 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 Islington?

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

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Islington?

    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 Islington 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.