Living in Swanson: schools, census and property titles
The 2,451 live property titles in Swanson, Auckland are almost all freehold (96%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 56 (2.3%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 56
- Share of live titles
- 2.3%
- Live titles in total
- 2,451
- Auckland share
- 14.4%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Auckland
- 152 of 160
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 607 of 644
Swanson at a glance
Where Swanson differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: cross-lease share of titles (lower than 94% of NZ suburbs); titles first issued since 2020 (higher than 94% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Swanson is listed under Auckland.
- 2,451 live titles are recorded here, including 56 cross-lease titles (2.3%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 2.3% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 1.3% 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
- A usable MBIE new-tenancy rent figure is not available for this suburb.
Title mix in Swanson
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 2,351 | 95.9% |
| Cross lease | 56 | 2.3% |
| Unit title | 31 | 1.3% |
| Leasehold | 6 | 0.2% |
| Other record types | 7 | 0.3% |
| Total | 2,451 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Swanson compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Swanson is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Auckland as a whole, the share is 14.4%; Swanson is well below the overall Auckland share (14.4%).
Its cross-lease share is in the lowest quarter of 160 in Auckland (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Swanson are set up
Carports appear in fewer leases (7% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
More schemes refer to more than one flats plan (52%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
More land per flat than is typical in New Zealand: about 512 m² per flat, against 408 m².
| Scheme structure | Swanson | Auckland | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 29 | 39,589 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 82.8% | 73.7% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 13.8% | 14.0% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 0.0% | 12.0% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 1,057 m² | 961 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 512 m² | 418 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 27.6% | 23.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 6.9% | 19.2% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 0.0% | 5.5% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 51.7% | 42.1% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1989 | 1989 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 24 | 26,275 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Swanson
Unit titles are 1% of Swanson's titles, well below Auckland (15%) and well below New Zealand (8%). They belong to 5 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 4 units or fewer.
The unit-title share is in the lowest quarter of 160 in Auckland.
New titles in Swanson since 2020
555 of Swanson's current titles (23%) were first issued since 2020, above Auckland's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (16%) and well above New Zealand (12%).
That rate is in the highest quarter of 157 in Auckland.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 527 | 202 |
| Unit title | 25 | 15 |
| Cross-lease | 0 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 2 | 1 |
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 Swanson
The typical building in Swanson stands on ground sloping 4.6° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
The land rises from about 11 m to 320 m, and 43% of all of it, including reserves and gullies, is 15° or steeper.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Swanson
Swanson is inland: the typical title is 3.4 km from the sea or harbour edge, and fewer than 1 in 2,000 titles are within 1 km of it.
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 Swanson: 2023 Census
About 63% of Swanson's titles are in the census area Swanson (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Swanson exactly.
Fewer workers walk or cycle to work in Swanson than across Auckland: 1.4% against 4.2%.
Fewer households have no car in Swanson than across Auckland: 2.9% against 6.8%.
Fewer residents are 65 or over in Swanson than across Auckland: 7.1% against 13.3%.
| Measure | Swanson | Swanson Rural | Auckland whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 3,696 | 2,289 | 1,656,486 |
| Change since 2018 | +64.9% | −2.8% | +5.4% |
| Change since 2013 | +123.6% | +7.5% | +17.0% |
| Median age | 33.3 | 42.5 | 35.9 |
| Households | 1,116 | 735 | 539,490 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 74.5% | 79.6% | 59.5% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 25.3% | 20.4% | 40.5% |
| Median household income | $137,200 | $134,500 | $116,800 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $560 | $500 | $540 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 5.3% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 21.9% | 16.9% | 19.2% |
| 15 to 29 | 21.2% | 18.1% | 20.9% |
| 30 to 64 | 49.8% | 49.5% | 46.5% |
| 65 and over | 7.1% | 15.6% | 13.3% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 41.2% | 24.5% | 42.9% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 10.6% | 12.0% | 19.6% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 58.3% | 33.9% | 45.0% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 3.2% | 2.6% | 5.6% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 19.3% | 11.9% | 21.1% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 33.9% | 25.9% | 32.9% |
| Employed full-time | 60.7% | 53.4% | 53.2% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.6% | 2.5% | 3.3% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 48.4% | 48.6% | 47.5% |
| Median personal income | $54,400 | $49,300 | $44,700 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 19.4% | 21.1% | 18.2% |
| Car, truck or van | 71.2% | 73.2% | 68.6% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 6.8% | 4.1% | 7.8% |
| Walk or cycle | 1.4% | 0.7% | 4.2% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 11.9% | 14.8% | 18.5% |
| Average people per household | 3.3 | 3 | 3 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 2.9% | 2.2% | 6.8% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 6.1% | 4.6% | 8.8% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 52.7% | 46.5% | 47.2% |
| Couples without children | 30.1% | 40.6% | 35.5% |
| One-parent families | 17.2% | 12.4% | 17.3% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 80.6% | 93.9% | 71.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 82.4% | 59.4% | 66.3% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 13.3% | 22.6% | 20.1% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 10.0% | 17.3% | 17.4% |
Schools and hospitals near Swanson
One school site lies inside Swanson: Swanson School (Full Primary).
- Swanson School (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Swanson School (1.7 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Massey High School (4.6 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Waitakere Hospital (5.8 km)
School enrolment zones in Swanson: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Swanson's titles: Waitakere College.
- St Paul's School (Massey) (primary, Years 1–6): about 45% of titles
- Swanson School (primary, Years 1–8): about 90% of titles
- Birdwood School (primary, Years 1–8): about 15% of titles
- Waitakere School (primary, Years 1–8): about 5% of titles
- Waitakere College (secondary): about 95% of titles
- Massey High School (secondary): about 15% 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 Swanson
49% of Swanson's titles are within 400 m of a stop with a scheduled weekday service, well below Auckland as a whole (82%).
18% are that close to a frequent stop (60 or more departures that day), well below the council (54%); in the lowest quarter of 160 in Auckland.
38% are within 800 m of a train station or ferry wharf.
The typical title is 409 m in a straight line from its nearest stop.
Timetable of Wednesday 30 September 2026, Auckland Transport. Sources and limits
Places of worship near Swanson
OpenStreetMap maps 2 places of worship inside Swanson (2 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: St Mark's Anglican Church, 1.6 km away
- Muslim: West Auckland Islamic Centre, 3.4 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 Swanson
The closest match on the measures on this site is Takanini in Auckland, nearest on children, heat pumps, commuting on foot or by bike. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takanini | Auckland | 5.8% | $690 | 31.6 | children, heat pumps, commuting on foot or by bike |
| Ōpaheke | Auckland | 7.6% | $670 | 32.5 | schools, unit-title share, commuting on foot or by bike |
| Fitzroy, Hamilton City | Hamilton City | 6.2% | $620 | 35.5 | unit-title share, home ownership, commuting on foot or by bike |
| Poike | Tauranga City | 14.2% | No data | 29.4 | schools, older residents, children |
| Queenwood | Hamilton City | 9.2% | $640 | 38.5 | land per flat, distance to a hospital, unit-title share |
Questions
What schools are in Swanson?
LINZ maps 1 school site inside Swanson: Swanson School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Massey High School (4.6 km in a straight line). The secondary-school home zone covering most of its titles is Waitakere College; check the school's own zone map for any address.