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Suburb profile · Hawke's Bay · NZ

St Leonards NZ

St Leonards is in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, with population 2,610.

The read

Growth-momentum

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.

$520/wk
1/04/2021 → 1/01/2026 · 20 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/01/2026
$653
$440
1/04/20211/01/2026
Why it fits

Approvals activity points to active development pressure. Transport coverage adds a practical access signal.

What to check

Higher deprivation should be treated as a local-context caution.

Read full evidence → Compare suburb Open matching ranking
Median rent
$520/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D3 vs NZ
Population
2,610
3K local footprint
D7 vs NZ
Income
$42K/yr
Median personal income
D6 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 8
Higher deprivation
D8 vs NZ
Schools
—
No matched schools

Area prices & affordability

Hastings District territorial authority · HUD Local Housing Statistics
Median sale price
$692K
+12.2% over 5yr
↑2.5%YoY
Lower quartile
$556K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
3,828
QV-based HPI
↑1.8%5yr
Income to buy
7.4x
Years of median income
Annual sales
1,216
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$3,210/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
41%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
9.9 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$3,373
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$3,060
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$3,210
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$3,269

A territorial-authority estimate: the Hastings 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 St Leonards-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -1.7%5yr -7.0%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Hastings 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 Hastings 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 St Leonards, not a St Leonards-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Derived from this suburb's own tenancy-bond rent history
Rent cycle positionRents rising
Low · 2020Peak · 2024

1.9% below peak rent · 30.0% above its low

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +3.8%/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
$42K personal · yr+3.7% vs Hawke's Bay suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
261
$10,001-$20,000
228
$20,001-$30,000
333
$30,001-$50,000
414
$50,001-$70,000
450
$70,001-$100,000
318
$100,001 or more
126

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-1.6pp since 2013
2013
58% owned
2018
59% owned
2023
56% owned

4.7% 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 13% 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

Stats NZ projections · Hastings District · medium series
88,000 people · 202395,000 by 2033 (+8.0%)

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

Crime

Hastings District · Territorial Authority
Rate · per 100k5,609
Total incidents4,822· 2026-05
  • Assault75441%
  • Burglary92751%
  • Robbery613%
  • Sexual Assault814%

Natural hazards

Earthquake & flood exposure estimates
Earthquake exposure
Moderate
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
6.0 km
Tukituki Fault Zone
Fault slip rate
Low
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from St Leonards'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
6
active listings · ~2.3 per 1,000 residents
100%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
33%
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

OSM · GTFS · schools + hospitals
53/ 100 livability index

Top 47% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 53% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access90
Public transport (9 stops)55
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
Cgrade · 48/100 · top 52% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 48% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth31
Rental yield39
Stability70

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

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

Stats NZ building consents · 2026
Latest consents
9
2 houses · 7 units
↑125.0%YoY D8 vs NZ

Employment

Stats NZ Census 2023 vs 2018 (employed residents 15+)
Employed residents
1,413
Was 1,491 in 2018
↓5.2%vs 2018 D7 vs NZ

Full data detail

Stats NZ Census 2023 · MBIE · MoE · NZDep2023
St Leonards Hawke's Bay — Property Data and Demographics

St Leonards is a small suburb in Hawke's Bay with a population of 2,610 and a median age of 36. Median personal income is $42K 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 1,491 in 2018 to 1,413 in 2023 (-5.2%), 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 St Leonards is $520 (520 houses, 530 units). This represents approximately 65% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for St Leonards: NZDep decile 8 (high deprivation); 9 transport stops (9 bus).

In 2026, St Leonards recorded 9 building approvals (2 houses, 7 units), up 125% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability65%↓ Stretched
DeprivationDecile 8↓ High
Transport Access9 stops· Some Access
Development+125%↑ Accelerating
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/01/2026)$520
House · wk$520
Unit · wk$530
Rent / income65.0%
Lodgements36
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)9
Houses 22%Units 78%
YoY change+125%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population2,610
Median age36
Household size—
HH income · yr—
Personal income · yr$41,600
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived8/10
NZDep score1056

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European1,611
Māori750
Asian426
Pacific Peoples216
MELAA30
Top industriesCensus 23
Health Care and Social Assistance207
Manufacturing159
Retail Trade138
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing129
Construction120
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets2
Pharmacies1
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations2
Cafes & dining10
paknsave1
TransportGTFS
Bus stops9
Hospitals · Hastings DistrictMoH
Hawke's Bay HospitalPublic Hospital
Nearby in Hawke's Bay12
Akina Park2,265Flaxmere Park2,736Cornwall Park3,123Parkhaven2,979Raceway Park2,046Mahora2,907Queens Square1,944Mayfair3,141Flaxmere West2,826Tomoana Crossing2,559Lochain Park2,985Parkvale2,331
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

There is enough direct local evidence on St Leonards 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 · 9 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.

St Leonards FAQ

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

    The median weekly rent in St Leonards 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 St Leonards?

    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 St Leonards?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for St Leonards 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 St Leonards?

    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 St Leonards 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.

Hawke's Bay

St Leonards sits in Hawke's Bay — explore the region.