Living in Hillsborough, Auckland: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 2,658 live property titles in Hillsborough, Auckland are mostly freehold (70%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 697 (26.2%), well above the national share of 8.7%.
Hillsborough, Auckland cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 697
- Share of live titles
- 26.2%
- Live titles in total
- 2,658
- Auckland share
- 14.4%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Auckland
- joint 37 of 160
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 51 of 644
Hillsborough at a glance
Where Hillsborough differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: median weekly rent, new tenancies (higher than 94% of NZ suburbs); cross-lease share of titles (higher than 91% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Hillsborough is listed under Auckland.
- 2,658 live titles are recorded here, including 697 cross-lease titles (26.2%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
- The page includes MBIE new-tenancy rent figures for April–June 2026.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 26.2% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 2.2% of recorded titles, so title structure can vary within the suburb.
- Public-transport figures describe how recorded titles sit near mapped stops. They do not describe a service from a particular property.
- Coast distance is a suburb-level map measure, not a flood or hazard assessment.
Questions worth investigating
- For any cross-lease property you consider, do the current title, flats plan and lease match what is built today?
- What do the LIM, council property file and a suitable inspection add for the specific address?
No data held for this suburb
- The core title, Census, rent, transport and coast measures used by this page are available.
Title mix in Hillsborough
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,873 | 70.5% |
| Cross lease | 697 | 26.2% |
| Unit title | 58 | 2.2% |
| Leasehold | 8 | 0.3% |
| Other record types | 22 | 0.8% |
| Total | 2,658 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Hillsborough compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Hillsborough is about 3.0 times the national share (8.7%).
Across Auckland as a whole, the share is 14.4%; Hillsborough is about 1.8 times the overall Auckland share (14.4%).
Its cross-lease share is in the highest quarter of 160 in Auckland (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Hillsborough are set up
Fewer schemes have four or more flats on one section (6%, against 11% nationally), up to 27.
Fewer leases include a garage (20% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
More schemes refer to more than one flats plan (50%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
| Scheme structure | Hillsborough | Auckland | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 316 | 39,589 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 85.1% | 73.7% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 9.2% | 14.0% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 5.7% | 12.0% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 875 m² | 961 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 417 m² | 418 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 19.6% | 23.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 12.7% | 19.2% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 3.8% | 5.5% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 49.7% | 42.1% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1990 | 1989 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 250 | 26,275 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Hillsborough
Unit titles are 2% of Hillsborough's titles, well below Auckland (15%) and well below New Zealand (8%). They belong to 18 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 2 units or fewer.
The unit-title share is in the lowest quarter of 160 in Auckland.
New titles in Hillsborough since 2020
228 of Hillsborough's current titles (9%) were first issued since 2020, well below Auckland's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (16%) and below New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 221 | 120 |
| Unit title | 2 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 5 | 3 |
| Leasehold | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
New titles include cross-leases converted to freehold and titles re-issued; they are not a count of new homes. Sources and limits
The lie of the land in Hillsborough
The typical building in Hillsborough stands on ground sloping 7.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), in the steepest quarter of 160 in Auckland.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Hillsborough
18% of Hillsborough's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 46% within 500 m and 78% within 1 km. The typical title is 580 m away.
Measured in a straight line from the centre of each title's land to the coastline on LINZ's 1:50k topographic map, which follows harbours and estuaries as well as the open coast; lakes and rivers are not included. Distance says nothing about beach access, views or exposure to coastal hazards; council hazard maps and the LIM describe those.
Who lives around Hillsborough: 2023 Census
Hillsborough's titles fall in 8 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 4 shown below hold 97% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
Fewer households have no car in Hillsborough South (Auckland) than across Auckland: 1.9% against 6.8%.
Fewer people live alone in Hillsborough South (Auckland) than across Auckland: 12.5% against 18.5%.
Household incomes are higher in Hillsborough South (Auckland) than across Auckland: $149,800 against $116,800.
| Measure | Hillsborough South (Auckland) 34% of titles | Hillsborough Central (Auckland) 29% of titles | Waikowhai Bay 18% of titles | Hillsborough North (Auckland) 16% of titles | Auckland whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,769 | 2,469 | 1,971 | 1,653 | 1,656,486 |
| Change since 2018 | −0.2% | +3.3% | −3.2% | −1.6% | +5.4% |
| Change since 2013 | +12.2% | +23.9% | +12.9% | +13.1% | +17.0% |
| Median age | 37.9 | 34.9 | 37.4 | 43.6 | 35.9 |
| Households | 861 | 741 | 615 | 648 | 539,490 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 72.1% | 61.9% | 67.3% | 75.5% | 59.5% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 28.2% | 37.7% | 32.2% | 25.0% | 40.5% |
| Median household income | $149,800 | $135,300 | $157,000 | $83,100 | $116,800 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $650 | $600 | $645 | $600 | $540 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 4.3% | 3.4% | 7.1% | 10.2% | 8.8% |
| Ages | |||||
| Under 15 | 15.1% | 19.0% | 14.6% | 13.8% | 19.2% |
| 15 to 29 | 23.3% | 22.4% | 21.6% | 18.3% | 20.9% |
| 30 to 64 | 46.7% | 48.7% | 49.8% | 38.8% | 46.5% |
| 65 and over | 14.8% | 10.1% | 13.9% | 29.0% | 13.3% |
| Where people came from | |||||
| Born overseas | 42.4% | 55.9% | 55.1% | 41.8% | 42.9% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 14.8% | 17.2% | 15.7% | 17.3% | 19.6% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 40.4% | 45.0% | 40.1% | 44.2% | 45.0% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 3.7% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 5.8% | 5.6% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 20.1% | 18.0% | 21.6% | 20.1% | 21.1% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 41.6% | 45.6% | 45.1% | 37.7% | 32.9% |
| Employed full-time | 56.8% | 58.6% | 58.7% | 44.3% | 53.2% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 1.9% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 3.3% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 53.5% | 51.7% | 54.4% | 48.5% | 47.5% |
| Median personal income | $50,800 | $49,500 | $54,800 | $37,300 | $44,700 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||||
| Work from home | 18.0% | 15.6% | 17.5% | 18.8% | 18.2% |
| Car, truck or van | 72.0% | 70.3% | 72.3% | 68.8% | 68.6% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 6.5% | 10.9% | 7.7% | 9.0% | 7.8% |
| Walk or cycle | 2.4% | 1.9% | 1.0% | 3.0% | 4.2% |
| Households and families | |||||
| One-person households | 12.5% | 11.0% | 13.1% | 35.2% | 18.5% |
| Average people per household | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 1.9% | 2.2% | 1.1% | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 5.8% | 9.2% | 5.6% | 4.7% | 8.8% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 47.1% | 55.6% | 49.4% | 44.4% | 47.2% |
| Couples without children | 41.2% | 31.8% | 42.4% | 43.6% | 35.5% |
| One-parent families | 11.8% | 12.6% | 8.2% | 11.3% | 17.3% |
| Homes | |||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 87.2% | 79.0% | 85.9% | 48.6% | 71.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 69.1% | 73.7% | 73.7% | 76.9% | 66.3% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 20.8% | 21.1% | 23.5% | 15.3% | 20.1% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 15.7% | 19.8% | 19.1% | 15.5% | 17.4% |
Rents around Hillsborough
New tenancies in Hillsborough South (Auckland) in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $795 a week (up 1.9% on a year earlier). That is slightly above the typical suburb in Auckland ($675), and above the national median ($600); in the highest quarter of 129 in Auckland.
| April–June 2026 | Hillsborough South (Auckland) 34% of titles | Hillsborough East (Auckland) 29% of titles | Waikowhai South 18% of titles | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $795 | $735 | $775 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $595–$1,050 | $693–$763 | $625–$873 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +1.9% | +1.7% | +14.8% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 15 | 18 | 15 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Hillsborough
LINZ maps 3 school sites inside Hillsborough, among them Hillsborough School (Contributing) and Monte Cecilia Catholic School (Contributing).
- Hillsborough School (Contributing)
- Monte Cecilia Catholic School (Contributing)
- Waikowhai Primary School (Contributing)
- Nearest school: Hillsborough School (0.3 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Onehunga High School (0.9 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Auckland City Hospital (7.1 km)
School enrolment zones in Hillsborough: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Hillsborough's titles: Onehunga High School.
- Hillsborough School (primary, Years 1–6): about 70% of titles
- Three Kings School (primary, Years 1–6): about 15% of titles
- Waikowhai School (primary, Years 1–6): about 15% of titles
- Waikowhai Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): about 80% of titles
- Mt Roskill Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): about 30% of titles
- Royal Oak Intermediate School (intermediate, Years 7–8): about 15% of titles
- Onehunga High School (secondary): about 65% of titles
- Mt Roskill Grammar (secondary): about 35% of titles
- Baradene College (secondary): about 20% of titles
A guide only: check the school's own zone map for any address. Zones as at 14 July 2026. Sources and limits
Public transport in Hillsborough
90% of Hillsborough's titles are within 400 m of a stop with a scheduled weekday service, slightly above Auckland as a whole (82%).
49% are that close to a frequent stop (60 or more departures that day), slightly below the council (54%).
The typical title is 166 m in a straight line from its nearest stop.
Timetable of Wednesday 30 September 2026, Auckland Transport. Sources and limits
Places of worship near Hillsborough
OpenStreetMap maps 5 places of worship inside Hillsborough (4 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Hillsborough Baptist / Hills Church, under 1 km away
- Hindu: Shri Shirdi Saibaba Mandir, 1.7 km away
- Buddhist: Trashi Gomang Buddhist Centre, 3.0 km away
- Muslim: Al Rahman Masjid - Al Manar Islamic Trust, 1.5 km away
- Sikh: Gurdwara Sahib, 8.3 km away
- Jewish: Beth Shalom Progressive Synagogue, 4.7 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Auckland with many cross-leases
- Papatoetoe: 3,998 cross-lease titles (25.8%)
- Remuera: 3,046 cross-lease titles (26.7%)
- Mount Roskill: 2,891 cross-lease titles (28.3%)
- Mount Wellington: 2,700 cross-lease titles (24.1%)
- Glenfield: 2,347 cross-lease titles (36.6%)
- Epsom: 2,335 cross-lease titles (29.8%)
- New Lynn: 2,016 cross-lease titles (24.4%)
- Mount Eden: 2,005 cross-lease titles (20.7%)
Suburbs like Hillsborough
The closest match on the measures on this site is Torbay in Auckland, nearest on recent movers within NZ, slope, unit-title share. Closeness is arithmetic, not a rating. Sources and limits
| Suburb | Council | Cross-lease share of titles | Median weekly rent, new tenancies | Median age | Closest on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torbay | Auckland | 25.9% | $750 | 39.9 | recent movers within NZ, slope, unit-title share |
| Hillcrest, Auckland | Auckland | 28.8% | $700 | 36.3 | population change, recent movers within NZ, commuting on foot or by bike |
| Shelly Park | Auckland | 17.2% | $725 | 41 | population change, distance to the coast, slope |
| Forrest Hill | Auckland | 33.7% | $763 | 37 | working from home, schools, older residents |
| Goodwood Heights | Auckland | 10.7% | $785 | 36.7 | older residents, land per flat, population change |
Questions
What is the rent in Hillsborough, Auckland?
New tenancies in Hillsborough South (Auckland) (the rent area for part of Hillsborough) had a median rent of $795 a week in the April–June 2026 quarter (MBIE bond data, all dwelling types). These are rents agreed for new tenancies, not asking rents. The middle half of those rents ran from $595 to $1,050.
What schools are in Hillsborough, Auckland?
LINZ maps 3 school sites inside Hillsborough: Hillsborough School, Monte Cecilia Catholic School and Waikowhai Primary School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Onehunga High School (0.9 km in a straight line). The secondary-school home zone covering most of its titles is Onehunga High School; check the school's own zone map for any address.