Living in Westport: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 3,429 live property titles in Westport, Buller District are almost all freehold (96%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 39 (1.1%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 39
- Share of live titles
- 1.1%
- Live titles in total
- 3,429
- Buller District share
- 0.4%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Buller District
- 1 of 1
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 634 of 644
Westport at a glance
Where Westport differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: cross-lease share of titles (lower than 98% of NZ suburbs); homes with a heat pump (lower than 96% of NZ suburbs); median weekly rent, new tenancies (lower 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
- Westport is listed under Buller District.
- 3,429 live titles are recorded here, including 39 cross-lease titles (1.1%).
- 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 1.1% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- 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
- Mapped public-transport context is not available for this suburb.
Title mix in Westport
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 3,292 | 96.0% |
| Cross lease | 39 | 1.1% |
| Unit title | 0 | 0.0% |
| Leasehold | 92 | 2.7% |
| Other record types | 6 | 0.2% |
| Total | 3,429 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Westport compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Westport is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Buller District as a whole, the share is 0.4%; Westport is about 2.8 times the overall Buller District share (0.4%).
How cross-leases in Westport are set up
Separate exclusive-use areas are more common (17% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (11%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
Fewer leases include a garage (17% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Westport | Buller District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 18 | 19 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 83.3% | 84.2% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 16.7% | 15.8% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 0.0% | 0.0% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 698 m² | 703 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 334 m² | 339 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 16.7% | 15.8% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 0.0% | 0.0% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 16.7% | 15.8% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 11.1% | 10.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1990 | 1990 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 6 | 7 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Westport
92 titles (2.7%) are leasehold, well above the national share (1.2%).
5 of them have a stated term that has ended or has under 10 years to run, which is worth reading closely in the lease.
Stated lease terms, as at 30 September 2026:
| Stated lease term | Titles |
|---|---|
| Stated term has ended | 2 |
| Under 10 years left | 3 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 1 |
| More than 50 years left | 42 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 43 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 1 |
New titles in Westport since 2020
191 of Westport's current titles (6%) were first issued since 2020, slightly below Buller District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (7%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 177 | 110 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 1 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 13 | 9 |
| 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 Westport
The typical building in Westport stands on ground sloping 0.8° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Nearly all of its 5,718 measured buildings (99%) stand on ground under 5°.
The land rises from about 0 m to 801 m, and 17% 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 Westport
0% of Westport's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 1% within 500 m and 5% within 1 km. The typical title is 2.5 km 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 Westport: 2023 Census
Westport's titles fall in 6 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 3 shown below hold 99% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
Fewer workers work from home in Westport South than across Buller District: 11.7% against 21.2%.
More households have no car in Westport South than across Buller District: 10.5% against 7.1%.
Fewer adults hold a degree in Westport South than across Buller District: 10.0% against 12.3%.
| Measure | Westport South 43% of titles | Westport North 38% of titles | Westport Rural 17% of titles | Buller District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,610 | 1,920 | 1,446 | 10,446 |
| Change since 2018 | +4.6% | +1.4% | +14.8% | +8.9% |
| Change since 2013 | −4.0% | −5.9% | +17.6% | −0.3% |
| Median age | 49.5 | 50.9 | 52.2 | 52 |
| Households | 1,164 | 933 | 579 | 4,848 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 70.1% | 69.5% | 85.0% | 74.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 30.2% | 30.9% | 15.0% | 25.6% |
| Median household income | $50,600 | $47,600 | $73,900 | $51,800 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $265 | $290 | $250 | $250 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 10.6% | 12.8% | 11.8% | 18.7% |
| Ages | ||||
| Under 15 | 15.6% | 14.2% | 16.2% | 14.7% |
| 15 to 29 | 13.2% | 13.4% | 10.6% | 11.5% |
| 30 to 64 | 45.5% | 43.9% | 46.9% | 47.5% |
| 65 and over | 25.6% | 28.4% | 26.3% | 26.3% |
| Where people came from | ||||
| Born overseas | 11.7% | 12.2% | 11.7% | 13.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 20.0% | 19.7% | 17.9% | 17.0% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 46.7% | 48.7% | 49.1% | 49.1% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.2% | 2.5% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 18.7% | 18.2% | 18.0% | 18.3% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 10.0% | 10.6% | 16.0% | 12.3% |
| Employed full-time | 39.9% | 38.1% | 42.1% | 39.3% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.4% | 3.1% | 1.7% | 3.0% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 30.5% | 31.3% | 44.6% | 38.3% |
| Median personal income | $28,400 | $29,300 | $32,200 | $28,800 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||||
| Work from home | 11.7% | 11.6% | 20.7% | 21.2% |
| Car, truck or van | 77.1% | 71.8% | 74.4% | 67.7% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Walk or cycle | 9.9% | 15.5% | 3.7% | 9.2% |
| Households and families | ||||
| One-person households | 37.0% | 42.1% | 22.7% | 37.1% |
| Average people per household | 2.1 | 2 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 10.5% | 11.1% | 1.8% | 7.1% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.9% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 29.4% | 31.8% | 32.4% | 30.2% |
| Couples without children | 51.3% | 50.0% | 60.4% | 55.7% |
| One-parent families | 19.3% | 18.8% | 6.5% | 14.1% |
| Homes | ||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 86.5% | 77.1% | 91.4% | 86.7% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.9 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 48.2% | 46.7% | 38.3% | 37.1% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 22.1% | 18.4% | 10.3% | 19.3% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 16.7% | 11.9% | 9.4% | 13.6% |
Rents around Westport
New tenancies in Westport South in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $450 a week (up 7.1% on a year earlier). That is below the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Westport South 43% of titles | Westport North 38% of titles | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $450 | $460 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $400–$494 | $376–$469 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +7.1% | +2.2% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 12 | 12 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Westport
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Westport, among them Buller High School (Secondary (Year 9-15)) and St Canice's School (Westport) (Full Primary).
- Buller High School (Secondary (Year 9-15))
- St Canice's School (Westport) (Full Primary)
- Westport North School (Full Primary)
- Westport South School (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Westport South School (3.8 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Buller High School (5.5 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Buller Health (5.4 km)
School enrolment zones in Westport: a guide
The largest primary-school zone share of Westport's titles is in Westport South School's home zone (about 55%).
- Westport South School (primary, Years 1–8): about 55% of titles
About 45% of Westport's titles are outside every mapped home zone.
A guide only: check the school's own zone map for any address. Zones as at 14 July 2026. Sources and limits
Places of worship near Westport
OpenStreetMap maps 3 places of worship inside Westport (1 Christian, 2 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: St Canice's, 4.7 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Suburbs like Westport
The closest match on the measures on this site is Greymouth in Grey District, nearest on schools, new titles, elevation. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greymouth | Grey District | 3.3% | No data | 54.7 | schools, new titles, elevation |
| Hokitika | Westland District | 3.1% | No data | 46.7 | unit-title share, new titles, population change |
| Moturoa | New Plymouth District | 15.0% | $530 | 45.3 | recent movers within NZ, population change, commuting by public transport |
| Waitara | New Plymouth District | 5.5% | $500 | 37.4 | unit-title share, population change, distance to the coast |
| Welbourn | New Plymouth District | 9.5% | $525 | 41.3 | distance to the coast, commuting by public transport, population change |
Questions
What is the rent in Westport?
New tenancies in Westport South (the rent area for part of Westport) had a median rent of $450 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 $400 to $494.
What schools are in Westport?
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Westport, including Buller High School, St Canice's School (Westport) and Westport North School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Buller High School (5.5 km in a straight line). Being near a school does not mean being in its zone.