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Suburb profile · Wellington · NZ

Island Bay West NZ

Island Bay West is in Wellington, New Zealand, with population 3,234.

The read

Growth-momentum

The page gives you enough to keep this suburb in view, but not enough to make a fast conviction call. Use compare mode or the region hub to see whether the mixed picture still holds up against alternatives.

$680/wk
1/04/2021 → 1/01/2026 · 20 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$850
$500
1/04/20211/01/2026
Why it fits

Approvals activity points to active development pressure. Transport coverage adds a practical access signal. Lower deprivation supports a livability-led read.

Read full evidence → Compare suburb Open matching ranking
Median rent
$770/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D9 vs NZ
Population
3,234
3K local footprint
D9 vs NZ
Income
$62K/yr
Median personal income
D10 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 2
Lower deprivation
D2 vs NZ
Schools
—
No matched schools

Area prices & affordability

Wellington City territorial authority · HUD Local Housing Statistics
Median sale price
$850K
-2.8% over 5yr
↓1.2%YoY
Lower quartile
$702K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
2,544
QV-based HPI
↓19.3%5yr
Income to buy
6.4x
Years of median income
Annual sales
2,398
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$3,942/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
35%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
8.5 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$4,143
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$3,759
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$3,942
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$4,016

A territorial-authority estimate: the Wellington 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 Island Bay West-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -3.1%5yr -23.8%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Wellington 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 Wellington 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 Island Bay West, not a Island Bay West-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Derived from this suburb's own tenancy-bond rent history
Rent cycle positionRents recovering
Low · 2020Peak · 2021

16.0% below peak rent · 51.1% above its low

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +4.8%/yr · 5-yr -3.4%/yr

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

Personal income

Stats NZ Census · median individual · annual
$62K personal · yr+27.1% vs Wellington suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
312
$10,001-$20,000
219
$20,001-$30,000
252
$30,001-$50,000
333
$50,001-$70,000
375
$70,001-$100,000
417
$100,001 or more
762

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

Stats NZ Census 2013-2023
Home ownership over three censuses+0.0pp since 2013
2013
69% owned
2018
69% owned
2023
69% owned

5.7% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

21% damp (-1pp vs 2018) and 16% 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.

Population outlook

Stats NZ projections · Wellington City · medium series
209,800 people · 2023218,100 by 2033 (+4.0%)

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

Crime

Wellington City · Territorial Authority
Rate · per 100k5,786
Total incidents11,727· 2026-05
  • Assault1,52243%
  • Burglary1,68248%
  • Robbery1284%
  • Sexual Assault1825%

Natural hazards

Earthquake & flood exposure estimates
Earthquake exposure
High
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
2.8 km
Evans Bay Fault

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Island Bay West'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

Inside Airbnb
20
active listings · ~6.2 per 1,000 residents
85%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
10%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$183
median nightly (entire home)
28%
estimated occupancy
$19,116
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.

Livability

OSM · GTFS · schools + hospitals
41/ 100 livability index

Top 59% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 41% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access72
Public transport (11 stops)64
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

Composite · growth · yield · stability
Dgrade · 27/100 · top 73% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 27% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth0
Rental yield45
Stability89

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

Similar-rent suburbs in other territorial authorities that rate higher on a metric.

Cheaper to rent

lower weekly rent · 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

Stats NZ building consents · 2026
Latest consents
16
2 houses · 14 units
↑23.1%YoY D9 vs NZ

Employment

Stats NZ Census 2023 vs 2018 (employed residents 15+)
Employed residents
1,989
Was 2,034 in 2018
↓2.2%vs 2018 D10 vs NZ

Full data detail

Stats NZ Census 2023 · MBIE · MoE · NZDep2023
Island Bay West Wellington — Property Data and Demographics

Island Bay West is a small suburb in Wellington with a population of 3,234 and a median age of 38. Median personal income is $62K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Asian, Māori. Wellington population estimates moved +0.0% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +1.0% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 2,034 in 2018 to 1,989 in 2023 (-2.2%), 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 Island Bay West is $770 (770 houses, 430 units). This represents approximately 65% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Island Bay West: NZDep decile 2 (low deprivation (affluent)); 11 transport stops (11 bus).

In 2026, Island Bay West recorded 16 building approvals (2 houses, 14 units), up 23.1% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability65%↓ Stretched
DeprivationDecile 2↑ Low
Transport Access11 stops· Some Access
Development+23%↑ Accelerating
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$770
House · wk$770
Unit · wk$430
Rent / income64.7%
Lodgements75
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)16
Houses 13%Units 88%
YoY change+23.1%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population3,234
Median age38
Household size—
HH income · yr—
Personal income · yr$61,900
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived2/10
NZDep score929

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European2,697
Asian381
Māori330
Pacific Peoples156
MELAA102
Top industriesCensus 23
Public Administration and Safety393
Professional, Scientific and Technical291
Health Care and Social Assistance231
Education and Training174
Construction135
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets1
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining4
new world1
TransportGTFS
Bus stops11
Nearby in Wellington12
Island Bay East3,594Karori East3,459Johnsonville North3,282Kingston-Mornington-Vogeltown3,147Ngaio South3,069Miramar East2,922Tawa South3,435Johnsonville West3,471Northland (Wellington City)3,435Karori North2,568Khandallah North2,646Wadestown3,696
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Island Bay West 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 · 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 · 11 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.

Island Bay West FAQ

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

    The median weekly rent in Island Bay West is $770/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 Island Bay West?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 65% 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 Island Bay West?

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

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Island Bay West?

    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 Island Bay West 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.

Wellington

Island Bay West sits in Wellington — explore the region.