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Suburb profile · Hawke's Bay · NZ

Bluff Hill NZ

Bluff Hill is in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, with population 2,631.

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.

$770/wk
1/04/2021 → 1/01/2026 · 20 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$770
$400
1/04/20211/01/2026
Why it fits

Transport coverage adds a practical access signal. Lower deprivation supports a livability-led read.

Median rent
$780/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D9 vs NZ
Population
2,631
3K local footprint
D7 vs NZ
Income
$47K/yr
Median personal income
D7 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 2
Lower deprivation
D2 vs NZ
Schools
2
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$687K
+3.6% over 5yr
2.1%YoY
Lower quartile
$586K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
3,145
QV-based HPI
5.9%5yr
Income to buy
8.3x
Years of median income
Annual sales
1,141
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$3,186/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
46%
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%
$3,348
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$3,038
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$3,186
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$3,246

A territorial-authority estimate: the Napier 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 Bluff Hill-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -0.9%5yr -8.0%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Napier 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 Napier 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 Bluff Hill, not a Bluff Hill-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents at their peak
Low · 2021Peak · 2026

At / near its highest median rent on record

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +13.6%/yr · 5-yr +14.0%/yr

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

Personal income

$47K personal · yr+16% vs Hawke's Bay suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
285
$10,001-$20,000
222
$20,001-$30,000
294
$30,001-$50,000
393
$50,001-$70,000
351
$70,001-$100,000
315
$100,001 or more
414

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+6.5pp since 2013
2013
66% owned
2018
72% owned
2023
73% owned

10.7% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

17% damp (+3pp vs 2018) and 10% with visible mould larger than A4 (-0pp 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

66,200 people · 202369,800 by 2033 (+5.4%)

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

Crime

Rate · per 100k7,306
Total incidents4,727· 2026-05
  • Assault61838%
  • Burglary90556%
  • Robbery573%
  • Sexual Assault493%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Moderate
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
10.0 km
Unnamed

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Bluff Hill'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

77
active listings · ~29.3 per 1,000 residents
88%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
27%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$246
median nightly (entire home)
29%
estimated occupancy
$25,368
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

Total2
Students1,387
State1
State : Integrated1
  • Napier Girls' High SchoolSecondary (Year 9-15) · State
  • Sacred Heart College (Napier)Secondary (Year 9-15) · State : IntegratedZoned

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

Livability

61/ 100 livability index

Top 39% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 61% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access58
Public transport (5 stops)35
Schools & hospitals70

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

Dgrade · 30/100 · top 70% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 30% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth9
Rental yield55
Stability45

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
0 houses · 1 units
66.7%YoY D1 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
1,515
Was 1,479 in 2018
2.4%vs 2018 D8 vs NZ

Full data detail

Bluff Hill Hawke's Bay — Property Data and Demographics

Bluff Hill is a small suburb in Hawke's Bay with a population of 2,631 and a median age of 49. Median personal income is $47K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Māori, Asian. Hawke's Bay population estimates moved -0.1% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +0.5% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 1,479 in 2018 to 1,515 in 2023 (+2.4%), 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 Bluff Hill is $780 (780 houses, 550 units). This represents approximately 87% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Bluff Hill: NZDep decile 2 (low deprivation (affluent)); 2 schools with avg EQI 447; 5 transport stops (5 bus).

In 2026, Bluff Hill recorded 1 building approval (0 houses, 1 unit), down 66.7% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability87% Stretched
School QualityEQI 447· Average
DeprivationDecile 2 Low
Transport Access5 stops· Some Access
Development-67% Slowing
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$780
House · wk$780
Unit · wk$550
Rent / income87.2%
Lodgements36
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)1
Units1
YoY change-66.7%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population2,631
Median age49
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$46,500
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived2/10
NZDep score932

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European2,355
Māori318
Asian111
MELAA51
Pacific Peoples45
Top industriesCensus 23
Health Care and Social Assistance189
Professional, Scientific and Technical183
Retail Trade141
Education and Training132
Manufacturing123
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics1
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining2
TransportGTFS
Bus stops5
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Bluff Hill has 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 · 2 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 · 5 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.

Bluff Hill FAQ

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

    The median weekly rent in Bluff Hill is $780/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 Bluff Hill?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 87% 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 Bluff Hill?

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

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Bluff Hill?

    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 Bluff Hill 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.