Living in Kawakawa: schools, census and property titles
The 1,104 live property titles in Kawakawa, Far North District are almost all freehold (95%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 38 (3.4%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 38
- Share of live titles
- 3.4%
- Live titles in total
- 1,104
- Far North District share
- 2.2%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Far North District
- 6 of 7
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 562 of 644
Kawakawa at a glance
Where Kawakawa differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: homes with a heat pump (lower than 97% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Kawakawa is listed under Far North District.
- 1,104 live titles are recorded here, including 38 cross-lease titles (3.4%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 3.4% 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
- A usable MBIE new-tenancy rent figure is not available for this suburb.
- Mapped public-transport context is not available for this suburb.
Title mix in Kawakawa
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,044 | 94.6% |
| Cross lease | 38 | 3.4% |
| Unit title | 0 | 0.0% |
| Leasehold | 4 | 0.4% |
| Other record types | 18 | 1.6% |
| Total | 1,104 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Kawakawa compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Kawakawa is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Far North District as a whole, the share is 2.2%; Kawakawa is about 1.5 times the overall Far North District share (2.2%).
Its cross-lease share is 2nd lowest of 7 in Far North District (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Kawakawa are set up
Fewer leases include a garage (7% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (14%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
More schemes have four or more flats on one section (21%, against 11% nationally), up to 6.
| Scheme structure | Kawakawa | Far North District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 14 | 428 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 78.6% | 73.4% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 0.0% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 21.4% | 15.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 1,068 m² | 1,018 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 462 m² | 454 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 7.1% | 13.6% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 7.1% | 6.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 0.0% | 3.3% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 14.3% | 25.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1988 | 1991 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 11 | 293 | 54,978 |
New titles in Kawakawa since 2020
106 of Kawakawa's current titles (10%) were first issued since 2020, above Far North District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (8%) and slightly below New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 104 | 58 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 0 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 2 | 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 Kawakawa
The typical building in Kawakawa stands on ground sloping 4.5° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), 3rd steepest of 7 in Far North District.
The land rises from about 0 m to 240 m, and 46% 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 Kawakawa
1% of Kawakawa's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 4% within 500 m and 9% within 1 km. The typical title is 3.3 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 Kawakawa: 2023 Census
Kawakawa's titles fall in 5 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 2 shown below hold 92% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
Fewer workers work from home in Kawakawa than across Far North District: 10.2% against 22.8%.
Fewer residents are 65 or over in Kawakawa than across Far North District: 11.9% against 22.0%.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Kawakawa than across Far North District: 7.5% against 4.1%.
| Measure | Kawakawa 53% of titles | Matawaia-Taumarere 39% of titles | Far North District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 1,482 | 1,473 | 71,430 |
| Change since 2018 | +1.2% | +15.8% | +9.5% |
| Change since 2013 | +22.0% | +35.3% | +28.2% |
| Median age | 34.2 | 39.9 | 44.3 |
| Households | 462 | 465 | 25,374 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 57.8% | 78.7% | 71.7% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 41.6% | 21.9% | 28.3% |
| Median household income | $80,300 | $68,800 | $65,500 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $310 | $260 | $320 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 12.8% | 18.1% | 20.3% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 24.5% | 22.2% | 19.9% |
| 15 to 29 | 18.6% | 17.5% | 15.3% |
| 30 to 64 | 44.5% | 43.4% | 42.8% |
| 65 and over | 11.9% | 16.9% | 22.0% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 11.0% | 10.6% | 15.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 15.7% | 12.0% | 15.4% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 44.9% | 44.1% | 46.9% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.9% | 3.6% | 4.1% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 17.3% | 15.2% | 17.9% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 15.0% | 12.8% | 16.6% |
| Employed full-time | 49.2% | 42.7% | 40.1% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 7.0% | 5.0% | 4.7% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 39.4% | 43.4% | 41.8% |
| Median personal income | $33,000 | $28,700 | $29,700 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 10.2% | 20.5% | 22.8% |
| Car, truck or van | 81.9% | 77.2% | 71.8% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Walk or cycle | 7.5% | 1.4% | 4.1% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 23.7% | 23.9% | 26.4% |
| Average people per household | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 7.2% | 0.9% | 4.7% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 12.7% | 12.4% | 9.4% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 36.1% | 30.8% | 32.3% |
| Couples without children | 32.4% | 46.2% | 46.6% |
| One-parent families | 31.5% | 24.0% | 21.1% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 83.9% | 91.0% | 86.7% |
| Average bedrooms | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 46.3% | 24.1% | 43.4% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 46.3% | 38.9% | 28.6% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 41.0% | 36.4% | 23.4% |
Schools and hospitals near Kawakawa
LINZ maps 2 school sites inside Kawakawa, among them Bay of Islands College (Secondary (Year 9-15)) and Kawakawa Primary School (Full Primary).
- Bay of Islands College (Secondary (Year 9-15))
- Kawakawa Primary School (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Bay of Islands College (1.6 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Bay of Islands College (1.6 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Bay of Islands Hospital (2.2 km)
School enrolment zones in Kawakawa: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Kawakawa's titles: Bay of Islands College.
- Karetu School (primary): about 15% of titles
- Oromahoe School (primary): about 10% of titles
- Bay of Islands College (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 Kawakawa
OpenStreetMap maps 3 places of worship inside Kawakawa (2 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Kawakawa Baptist Fellowship / Kawakawa Baptist Church, 1.5 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Far North District with many cross-leases
- Kaitaia: 254 cross-lease titles (6.5%)
- Kerikeri: 232 cross-lease titles (3.8%)
- Paihia: 125 cross-lease titles (2.5%)
- Kaikohe: 110 cross-lease titles (4.3%)
- Haruru: 45 cross-lease titles (5.4%)
- Coopers Beach: 33 cross-lease titles (5.1%)
All suburbs in Far North District
Suburbs like Kawakawa
The closest match on the measures on this site is Kaiti in Gisborne District, nearest on unit-title share, commuting by public transport, born overseas. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiti | Gisborne District | 4.3% | $650 | 32.1 | unit-title share, commuting by public transport, born overseas |
| Hikurangi | Whangarei District | 2.8% | No data | 32.5 | unit-title share, born overseas, commuting by public transport |
| Mangapapa | Gisborne District | 3.8% | $530 | 32.8 | stand-alone houses, children, distance to the coast |
| Raumanga | Whangarei District | 16.6% | $550 | 30.9 | schools, population change, household income |
| Morningside, Whangarei District | Whangarei District | 12.0% | No data | 33.4 | schools, older residents, commuting on foot or by bike |
Questions
What schools are in Kawakawa?
LINZ maps 2 school sites inside Kawakawa: Bay of Islands College and Kawakawa Primary School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Bay of Islands College (1.6 km in a straight line). The secondary-school home zone covering most of its titles is Bay of Islands College; check the school's own zone map for any address.