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Suburb profile · West Coast · NZ

Westport Rural NZ

Westport Rural is in West Coast, New Zealand, with population 1,446.

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.

$460/wk
1/01/2020 → 1/07/2025 · 7 periods
Tenancy Services · 1/07/2025
$480
$280
1/01/20201/07/2025
Why it fits

Lower deprivation supports a livability-led read.

What to check

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

Median rent
$460/wk
Income-stretched rent market
D1 vs NZ
Population
1,446
1K local footprint
D3 vs NZ
Income
$32K/yr
Median personal income
D2 vs NZ
NZDep
Decile 4
Mid-range deprivation
D4 vs NZ
Schools
No matched schools

Area prices & affordability

Median sale price
$351K
+46.9% over 5yr
9.0%YoY
Lower quartile
$289K
Entry-level price
House Price Index
4,315
QV-based HPI
41.5%5yr
Income to buy
6.8x
Years of median income
Annual sales
183
Transactions, TA

Mortgage serviceability

at the 5.69% 2-year fixed rate
Monthly repayment
$1,628/mo
20% deposit, 30-year P&I
Repayment burden
38%
of gross household income
Stress level
Stretched
<30% comfortable · >45% severe
Years to deposit
9.0 yrs
20% deposit at 15% savings

Monthly repayment by fixed term

Floating · 6.15%
$1,711
1-year fixed · 5.26%
$1,552
2-year fixed · 5.69%
$1,628
3-year fixed · 5.86%
$1,658

A territorial-authority estimate: the Buller 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 Westport Rural-specific or borrower-specific figure.

Price trend

1yr -3.5%5yr +25.8%
QV House Price Index (Jan 2007 = 1000)

QV House Price Index for the Buller 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 Buller 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 Westport Rural, not a Westport Rural-specific sale price.

Rent trend depth

Rent cycle positionRents rising
Low · 2020Peak · 2024

4.2% below peak rent · 64.3% above its low

Rent growth (compound)3-yr +18.0%/yr

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

Personal income

$32K personal · yr+0% vs West Coast suburb median
Personal income distribution (Census 2023 · annual)
$10,000 or less
144
$10,001-$20,000
180
$20,001-$30,000
255
$30,001-$50,000
240
$50,001-$70,000
144
$70,001-$100,000
132
$100,001 or more
120

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+4.9pp since 2013
2013
80% owned
2018
80% owned
2023
85% owned

11.7% of private dwellings were unoccupied on 2023 census night (holiday homes, empty rentals, and vacant stock).

Dwelling condition (occupied dwellings, self-reported)

11% damp (-1pp vs 2018) and 9% 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

10,550 people · 202310,700 by 2033 (+1.4%)

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

Crime

Rate · per 100k3,464
Total incidents362· 2026-05
  • Assault5415%
  • Burglary10831%
  • Sexual Assault175%
  • Theft17349%

Natural hazards

Earthquake exposure
High
Proximity to active faults
Nearest active fault
3.0 km
Lower Buller Fault

Earthquake exposure is the distance from Westport Rural'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

26
active listings · ~18.0 per 1,000 residents
96%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
50%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$194
median nightly (entire home)
21%
estimated occupancy
$15,422
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

0/ 100 livability index

Top 100% most liveable of 1,902New Zealand suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 1% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access23
Public transport0
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

Agrade · 97/100 · top 3% of 65New Zealand districts
Peer distributionstronger than 97% of New Zealand districts
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth97
Rental yield98
Stability19

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
8
8 houses · 0 units
0.0%YoY D7 vs NZ

Employment

Employed residents
729
Was 627 in 2018
16.3%vs 2018 D3 vs NZ

Full data detail

Westport Rural West Coast — Property Data and Demographics

Westport Rural is a small community in West Coast with a population of 1,446 and a median age of 52. Median personal income is $32K per year. The main ethnic groups are European, Māori, Asian. West Coast population estimates moved +0.6% in the year ended June 2025, after moving +1.5% in 2024, which should be read as a broader regional movement backdrop rather than suburb-level migration precision. The resident employment base moved from 627 in 2018 to 729 in 2023 (+16.3%), 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 Westport Rural is $460 (460 houses, 0 units). This represents approximately 74% of median weekly personal income.

Livability indicators for Westport Rural: NZDep decile 4 (moderate deprivation).

In 2026, Westport Rural recorded 8 building approvals (8 houses, 0 units), up 0% year-on-year.

Market & money
Livability signalsHeuristics
Rent Affordability74% Stretched
DeprivationDecile 4· Moderate
Development+0%· Steady
Rental marketMBIE
Median rent · wk(1/07/2025)$460
House · wk$460
Rent / income74.3%
Lodgements12
DevelopmentStats NZ
Consents (2026)8
Houses8
YoY change+0%
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 23
Population1,446
Median age52
Household size
HH income · yr
Personal income · yr$32,200
Deprivation (NZDep)NZDep23
Less deprived4/10
NZDep score957

1 = least deprived · 10 = most deprived

EthnicityCensus 23
European1,344
Māori150
Asian27
MELAA9
Pacific Peoples6
Top industriesCensus 23
Construction102
Health Care and Social Assistance81
Retail Trade60
Professional, Scientific and Technical57
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing54
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations0
Cafes & dining1
Shortlist workspace

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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Usable evidence

Westport Rural works as a starting read but 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 · 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 · 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.
Sparse locality note

This page stays indexable because Westport Rural 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.

Read it as a quick locality brief, particularly when weighing it against larger or better-covered suburbs.

WHAT IS MISSING
Coverage is lighter across school matches, hospital coverage, and transport stops.

The main gaps on this page are school matches, hospital coverage, and transport stops. That means you should avoid treating one sparse reading as the whole suburb story.

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

Should the area still appeal, test it in compare, the region hub, or a bigger nearby suburb where coverage is denser.

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 Westport Rural feels too thin on its own, use these nearby suburbs as stronger local reads before treating it as a full shortlist call.

Reefton most similar
similar rent profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop -400 · rent -$65/wk · income -$3K

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

Westport South most similar
similar rent profile similar suburb scale similar income profile

pop +1200 · rent -$10/wk · income -$4K

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

Charleston (Buller District) most similar
similar rent profile similar income profile

pop -800 · rent +$35/wk · income -$2K

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

Westport Rural FAQ

Common questions
  1. What is the typical weekly rent in Westport Rural?

    The median weekly rent in Westport Rural is $460/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 Westport Rural?

    Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 74% 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 Westport Rural?

    QuickProperty's livability signals for Westport Rural show: Stretched, Moderate, Steady. These are based on rent affordability, school EQI, NZDep deprivation index, and transport access.

  4. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Westport Rural?

    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 Westport Rural 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.