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Suburb profile · Hawke's Bay · NZ

Waipukurau East NZ

Waipukurau East is in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, with population 1,962.

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.

$590/wk
1/07/2020 → 1/01/2026 · 20 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$620
$355
1/07/20201/01/2026
Median rent
$590/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D5 vs NZ
Population
1,962
2K local footprint
D5 vs NZ
Income
$39K/yr
Median personal income
D4 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 7
Mid-range deprivation
D7 vs NZ
Schools
1
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$517K
+16.4% over 5yr
1.5%YoY
Lower quartile
$437K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
3,656
QV-based HPI
2.7%5yr
Income to buy
6.3x
Years of median income
Annual sales
254
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$2,398/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
35%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
8.4 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$2,520
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$2,286
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$2,398
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$2,443

A territorial-authority estimate: the Central Hawkes Bay 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 Waipukurau East-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -1.1%5yr -5.3%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Central Hawkes Bay 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 Central Hawkes Bay 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 Waipukurau East, not a Waipukurau East-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents at their peak
Low · 2020Peak · 2026

At / near its highest median rent on record

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +2.4%/yr · 5-yr +5.1%/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-4% vs Hawke's Bay suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
138
$10,001-$20,000
159
$20,001-$30,000
342
$30,001-$50,000
351
$50,001-$70,000
360
$70,001-$100,000
207
$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+4.6pp since 2013
2013
72% owned
2018
71% owned
2023
76% owned

5.9% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

17% damp (+0pp vs 2018) and 10% with visible mould larger than A4 (-1pp vs 2018).

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

Crime

Rate · per 100k2,313
Total incidents358· 2026-05
  • Assault5917%
  • Burglary12034%
  • Theft16347%
  • Sexual Assault62%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Very high
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
<1 km
Waipukurau Fault Zone
Fault slip rate
Low
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Waipukurau East'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

2
active listings · ~1.0 per 1,000 residents
100%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
0%
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
Students575
State1
  • Central Hawkes Bay CollegeSecondary (Year 9-15) · State

Investment grade

Agrade · 81/100 · top 19% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 81% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth39
Rental yield83
Stability92

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
2
2 houses · 0 units
0.0%YoY D4 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
957
Was 852 in 2018
12.3%vs 2018 D4 vs NZ

Full data detail

Waipukurau East Hawke's Bay — Property Data and Demographics

Waipukurau East is a small community in Hawke's Bay with a population of 1,962 and a median age of 45. Median personal income is $39K 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 852 in 2018 to 957 in 2023 (+12.3%), 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 Waipukurau East is $590 (590 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 80% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Waipukurau East: NZDep decile 7 (moderate deprivation); 1 school with avg EQI 489.

In 2026, Waipukurau East recorded 2 building approvals (2 houses, 0 units), up 0% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability80% Stretched
School QualityEQI 489 Below Average
DeprivationDecile 7· Moderate
Development+0%· Steady
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$590
House · wk$590
Rent / income79.7%
Lodgements24
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)2
Houses2
YoY change+0%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population1,962
Median age45
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$38,500
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived7/10
NZDep score1011

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European1,542
Māori567
Asian108
Pacific Peoples69
MELAA9
Top industriesCensus 23
Manufacturing165
Construction102
Retail Trade102
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing96
Health Care and Social Assistance84
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Waipukurau East 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.

Waipukurau East FAQ

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

    The median weekly rent in Waipukurau East is $590/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 Waipukurau East?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 80% 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 Waipukurau East?

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

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Waipukurau East?

    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 Waipukurau East 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.