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Suburb profile · Marlborough · NZ

Waikawa (Marlborough District) NZ

Waikawa (Marlborough District) is in Marlborough, New Zealand, with population 1,659.

Limited data

Thin-context

This page still helps with local context, but the evidence stack is too thin for a clean suburb-level call. Use nearby alternatives or compare mode before turning it into a shortlist decision.

$623/wk
1/10/2020 → 1/07/2025 · 5 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/07/2025
$623
$340
1/10/20201/07/2025
What to check

The page is thin enough that nearby alternatives should be checked before shortlisting.

Median rent
$623/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D6 vs NZ
Population
1,659
2K local footprint
D4 vs NZ
Income
$37K/yr
Median personal income
D3 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 5
Mid-range deprivation
D5 vs NZ
Schools
2
matched school context

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$644K
+23.3% over 5yr
1.2%YoY
Lower quartile
$532K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
2,679
QV-based HPI
1.7%5yr
Income to buy
7.9x
Years of median income
Annual sales
987
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$2,985/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
44%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
10.6 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$3,136
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$2,846
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$2,985
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$3,040

A territorial-authority estimate: the Marlborough 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 Waikawa (Marlborough District)-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -0.5%5yr +0.9%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Marlborough 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 Marlborough 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 Waikawa (Marlborough District), not a Waikawa (Marlborough District)-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents at their peak
Low · 2020Peak · 2025

At / near its highest median rent on record

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +21.2%/yr

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

Personal income

$37K personal · yr-5.7% vs Marlborough suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
111
$10,001-$20,000
183
$20,001-$30,000
312
$30,001-$50,000
300
$50,001-$70,000
228
$70,001-$100,000
171
$100,001 or more
141

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+4.5pp since 2013
2013
77% owned
2018
81% owned
2023
82% owned

23.7% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

9% damp (+0pp vs 2018) and 5% 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

50,800 people · 202353,000 by 2033 (+4.3%)

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

Crime

Rate · per 100k3,604
Total incidents1,781· 2026-05
  • Assault24235%
  • Burglary38456%
  • Robbery193%
  • Sexual Assault467%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
Moderate
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
18.6 km
Wairau Fault
Fault slip rate
Moderate
Higher = more active

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Waikawa (Marlborough District)'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

63
active listings · ~38.0 per 1,000 residents
92%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
48%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$246
median nightly (entire home)
22%
estimated occupancy
$20,808
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
Students500
State2
  • Queen Charlotte CollegeSecondary (Year 7-15) · State
  • Waikawa Bay SchoolContributing · State

Livability

36/ 100 livability index

Top 64% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 36% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access38
Public transport0
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

Bgrade · 63/100 · top 37% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 63% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth59
Rental yield44
Stability56

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.

Building activity

Employment

Employed residents
1,224
Was 1,200 in 2018
2.0%vs 2018 D6 vs NZ

Full data detail

Waikawa (Marlborough District) Marlborough — Property Data and Demographics

Waikawa (Marlborough District) is a small community in Marlborough with a population of 1,659 and a median age of 58. Median personal income is $37K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Māori, Asian. Marlborough population estimates moved -0.3% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +0.2% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 1,200 in 2018 to 1,224 in 2023 (+2.0%), 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 Waikawa (Marlborough District) is $623 (623 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 88% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Waikawa (Marlborough District): NZDep decile 5 (moderate deprivation); 2 schools with avg EQI 476.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability88% Stretched
School QualityEQI 476 Below Average
DeprivationDecile 5· Moderate
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/07/2025)$623
House · wk$623
Rent / income88.3%
Lodgements12
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population1,659
Median age58
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$36,700
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived5/10
NZDep score965

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European1,461
Māori285
Asian39
Pacific Peoples18
MELAA9
Top industriesCensus 23
Construction96
Transport, Postal and Warehousing90
Accommodation and Food78
Manufacturing60
Retail Trade57
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining2
Hospitals · Marlborough DistrictMoH
Wairau HospitalPublic Hospital
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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Usable evidence

Waikawa (Marlborough District) is usable, but it still needs cross-checking.

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 · 1/07/2025 · 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 · No matched local transport stops
medium stability · mixed acquisition · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Building consents
Stats NZ building consents CSV · No linked building consents series
Missing
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.
Sparse locality note

This page stays indexable because Waikawa (Marlborough District) still carries enough real local context to help with NZ suburb discovery. It should still be read as a lighter locality brief, not as a fully covered suburb profile.

WHY IT LOOKS LIGHTER
The page is useful, but thinner than the strongest NZ suburb profiles.

Treat it as a fast locality brief, above all when comparing against bigger or more fully covered suburbs.

WHAT IS MISSING
Coverage is lighter across hospital coverage, transport stops, and building approvals.

The lighter areas here are hospital coverage, transport stops, and building approvals, so one sparse reading should not stand in for the whole suburb story.

BEST NEXT STEP
Use this page to frame the locality, then compare or zoom back out.

If the area still looks interesting, open compare, the region hub, or a nearby larger suburb to test whether the story holds up with denser coverage.

Page status
INDEXED WITH LIGHTER COVERAGE

The page still has enough real suburb context to remain searchable, but some market and service layers are too light for a full-confidence read.

HOW TO READ THIS PAGE

Use this page to frame the locality, then pressure-test the story with compare, the region hub, or a nearby better-covered suburb before treating it as complete.

Stronger nearby reads

If Waikawa (Marlborough District) feels too thin on its own, use these nearby suburbs as stronger local reads before treating it as a full shortlist call.

Awatere most similar
similar rent profile similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale

pop +100 · rent -$150/wk · income +$8K

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Whitney East most similar
similar rent profile similar deprivation profile similar suburb scale

pop +700 · rent -$63/wk · income +$2K

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Mayfield most similar
similar rent profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop same · rent -$73/wk · income same $

Similar local read: useful for context, but still compare the actual market signals.

Waikawa (Marlborough District) FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the typical weekly rent in Waikawa (Marlborough District)?

    The median weekly rent in Waikawa (Marlborough District) is $623/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 Waikawa (Marlborough District)?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 88% 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 Waikawa (Marlborough District)?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Waikawa (Marlborough District) 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 Waikawa (Marlborough District)?

    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 Waikawa (Marlborough District) 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.