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Suburb profile · Wellington · NZ

Tawa South NZ

Tawa South is in Wellington, New Zealand, with population 3,435.

The read

Livability-led

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.

$685/wk
1/04/2021 → 1/01/2026 · 20 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$835
$478
1/04/20211/01/2026
Why it fits

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

Median rent
$690/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D8 vs NZ
Population
3,435
3K local footprint
D9 vs NZ
Income
$56K/yr
Median personal income
D10 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 1
Lower deprivation
D1 vs NZ
Schools
No matched schools

Area prices & affordability

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 Tawa South-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 Tawa South, not a Tawa South-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents rising
Low · 2020Peak · 2023

3.5% below peak rent · 39.8% above its low

Rent growth (compound)3-yr -1.2%/yr · 5-yr +0.7%/yr

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

Personal income

$56K personal · yr+14.4% vs Wellington suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
384
$10,001-$20,000
243
$20,001-$30,000
294
$30,001-$50,000
369
$50,001-$70,000
444
$70,001-$100,000
420
$100,001 or more
681

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-2.3pp since 2013
2013
85% owned
2018
84% owned
2023
82% owned

3.3% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

18% damp (-1pp vs 2018) and 15% 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

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

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

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
High
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
1.6 km
Ohariu Fault
Fault slip rate
Moderate
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Tawa South'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

7
active listings · ~2.0 per 1,000 residents
71%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
29%
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.

Livability

58/ 100 livability index

Top 42% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 58% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access62
Public transport (19 stops)89
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

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

Cheaper to rent

lower weekly rent · cross-TA

Higher income

personal median · 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
0
0 houses · 0 units
0.0%YoY

Employment

Employed residents
1,977
Was 1,911 in 2018
3.5%vs 2018 D10 vs NZ

Full data detail

Tawa South Wellington — Property Data and Demographics

Tawa South is a small suburb in Wellington with a population of 3,435 and a median age of 39. Median personal income is $56K 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 1,911 in 2018 to 1,977 in 2023 (+3.5%), 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 Tawa South is $690 (690 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 64% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Tawa South: NZDep decile 1 (low deprivation (affluent)); 19 transport stops (19 bus).

In 2026, Tawa South recorded 0 building approvals (0 houses, 0 units), up 0% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability64% Stretched
DeprivationDecile 1 Low
Transport Access19 stops· Some Access
Development+0%· Steady
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$690
House · wk$690
Rent / income64.4%
Lodgements36
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)0
YoY change+0%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population3,435
Median age39
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$55,700
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived1/10
NZDep score901

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European2,619
Asian609
Māori357
Pacific Peoples234
MELAA57
Top industriesCensus 23
Public Administration and Safety405
Professional, Scientific and Technical276
Education and Training168
Health Care and Social Assistance156
Construction147
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets1
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining0
countdown1
TransportGTFS
Bus stops19
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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Tawa South 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 · 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 · 19 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.

Tawa South FAQ

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

    The median weekly rent in Tawa South is $690/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 Tawa South?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 64% 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 Tawa South?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Tawa South 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 Tawa South?

    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 Tawa South 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.