Living in Musselburgh: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 667 live property titles in Musselburgh, Dunedin City are almost all freehold (91%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 54 (8.1%), close to the national share of 8.7%.
Musselburgh cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 54
- Share of live titles
- 8.1%
- Live titles in total
- 667
- Dunedin City share
- 4.9%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Dunedin City
- 7 of 18
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 379 of 644
Musselburgh at a glance
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Musselburgh is listed under Dunedin City.
- 667 live titles are recorded here, including 54 cross-lease titles (8.1%).
- 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 8.1% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 0.6% of recorded titles, so title structure can vary within the suburb.
- 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 Musselburgh
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 605 | 90.7% |
| Cross lease | 54 | 8.1% |
| Unit title | 4 | 0.6% |
| Leasehold | 2 | 0.3% |
| Other record types | 2 | 0.3% |
| Total | 667 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Musselburgh compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Musselburgh is close to the national share (8.7%).
Across Dunedin City as a whole, the share is 4.9%; Musselburgh is about 1.7 times the overall Dunedin City share (4.9%).
How cross-leases in Musselburgh are set up
Three-flat schemes are less common here (5%, against 12% nationally).
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (18%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
Carports appear in more leases (18% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Musselburgh | Dunedin City | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 22 | 1,210 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 81.8% | 70.9% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 4.5% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 9.1% | 18.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 607 m² | 632 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 300 m² | 270 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 27.3% | 32.4% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 18.2% | 17.5% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 4.5% | 3.6% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 18.2% | 10.2% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1978 | 1980 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 3 | 239 | 54,978 |
New titles in Musselburgh since 2020
52 of Musselburgh's current titles (8%) were first issued since 2020, slightly above Dunedin City's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (7%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
That rate is in the highest quarter of 17 in Dunedin City.
Most came recently: 41 since 2023.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 50 | 39 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 1 | 1 |
| Leasehold | 1 | 1 |
| 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 Musselburgh
The typical building in Musselburgh stands on ground sloping 2.6° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Much of the land is low-lying: the median elevation is 5 m.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Musselburgh
12% of Musselburgh's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 53% within 500 m and 100% within 1 km. The typical title is 490 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 Musselburgh: 2023 Census
About 93% of Musselburgh's titles are in the census area Musselburgh (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Musselburgh exactly.
Household incomes are higher in Musselburgh than across Dunedin City: $97,100 against $80,500.
More adults hold a degree in Musselburgh than across Dunedin City: 34.9% against 29.0%.
| Measure | Musselburgh | Dunedin City whole council |
|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 1,524 | 128,901 |
| Change since 2018 | +0.6% | +2.1% |
| Change since 2013 | −2.9% | +7.2% |
| Median age | 38.7 | 37 |
| Households | 606 | 49,188 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 72.3% | 68.1% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 27.7% | 31.8% |
| Median household income | $97,100 | $80,500 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $395 | $400 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 6.4% | 8.2% |
| Ages | ||
| Under 15 | 15.9% | 14.8% |
| 15 to 29 | 21.9% | 26.7% |
| 30 to 64 | 45.5% | 41.2% |
| 65 and over | 16.7% | 17.3% |
| Where people came from | ||
| Born overseas | 22.4% | 21.2% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 19.3% | 22.7% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 39.3% | 45.1% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 4.2% | 3.7% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 18.7% | 24.0% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 34.9% | 29.0% |
| Employed full-time | 52.2% | 44.5% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 2.3% | 3.2% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 44.8% | 42.6% |
| Median personal income | $44,100 | $33,500 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||
| Work from home | 10.8% | 12.6% |
| Car, truck or van | 72.0% | 70.3% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 5.6% | 4.6% |
| Walk or cycle | 10.1% | 11.4% |
| Households and families | ||
| One-person households | 27.6% | 27.0% |
| Average people per household | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 8.7% | 8.8% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 3.0% | 3.4% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 38.8% | 38.4% |
| Couples without children | 43.3% | 46.5% |
| One-parent families | 17.9% | 15.1% |
| Homes | ||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 83.2% | 81.2% |
| Average bedrooms | 3 | 3 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 81.5% | 77.7% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 17.3% | 17.3% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 12.5% | 11.5% |
Rents around Musselburgh
New tenancies in Musselburgh in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $565 a week. That is close to the typical suburb in Dunedin City ($565), and close to the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Musselburgh | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $565 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $450–$650 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | — | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 18 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Musselburgh
No school site lies inside Musselburgh's boundary; the nearest is Tahuna Normal Intermediate, 0.6 km away in a straight line.
- Nearest school: Tahuna Normal Intermediate (0.6 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Bayfield High School (0.6 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Dunedin Hospital (3.2 km)
School enrolment zones in Musselburgh: a guide
Four secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Musselburgh's titles, among them John McGlashan College, Kavanagh College and Queens High School.
- Musselburgh School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Tainui School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Andersons Bay School (primary, Years 1–6): about 65% of titles
- Dunedin Rudolf Steiner School (primary, Years 1–8): all or nearly all titles
- Liberton Christian School (primary, Years 1–8): all or nearly all titles
- Tahuna Normal Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): all or nearly all titles
- Columba College (composite): all or nearly all titles
- John McGlashan College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Kavanagh College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Queens High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- St Hildas Collegiate (secondary): all or nearly all titles
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 Musselburgh
OpenStreetMap maps 1 place of worship inside Musselburgh (1 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Musselburgh Baptist Church, under 1 km away
- Muslim: Masjid Al Huda, 3.2 km away
- Jewish: Dunedin Jewish Congregation, 4.2 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Dunedin City with many cross-leases
- Mosgiel: 626 cross-lease titles (8.9%)
- Saint Kilda: 573 cross-lease titles (25.3%)
- South Dunedin: 356 cross-lease titles (16.9%)
- Caversham: 165 cross-lease titles (12.2%)
- Dunedin Central: 123 cross-lease titles (3.4%)
- North East Valley: 96 cross-lease titles (5.4%)
- Roslyn: 85 cross-lease titles (9.8%)
Suburbs like Musselburgh
The closest match on the measures on this site is Tainui in Dunedin City, nearest on damp homes, distance to the coast, household income. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tainui | Dunedin City | 5.5% | No data | 37.2 | damp homes, distance to the coast, household income |
| Andersons Bay | Dunedin City | 4.0% | No data | 40.6 | commuting by public transport, distance to the coast, population change |
| Forbury Corner | Dunedin City | 16.7% | $573 | 39.7 | heat pumps, unit-title share, commuting on foot or by bike |
| Kenmure | Dunedin City | 5.5% | No data | 37.3 | population change, distance to a hospital, unit-title share |
| Saint Clair | Dunedin City | 5.5% | $740 | 44.9 | distance to the coast, population change, commuting by public transport |
Questions
What is the rent in Musselburgh?
New tenancies in the Musselburgh rent area had a median rent of $565 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 $450 to $650.
What schools are in Musselburgh?
No school site lies inside Musselburgh's boundary. The nearest school is Tahuna Normal Intermediate (0.6 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles include John McGlashan College, Kavanagh College and Queens High School; check the school's own zone map for any address.