Living in Paihia: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 5,080 live property titles in Paihia, Far North District are mostly other record types (72%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 125 (2.5%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 125
- Share of live titles
- 2.5%
- Live titles in total
- 5,080
- Far North District share
- 2.2%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Far North District
- 7 of 7
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 596 of 644
Paihia at a glance
Where Paihia differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: titles first issued since 2020 (lower than 98% of NZ suburbs); median slope under buildings (higher than 95% of NZ suburbs); median age (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
- Paihia is listed under Far North District.
- 5,080 live titles are recorded here, including 125 cross-lease titles (2.5%).
- 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 2.5% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 6.6% 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 Paihia
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 925 | 18.2% |
| Cross lease | 125 | 2.5% |
| Unit title | 335 | 6.6% |
| Leasehold | 43 | 0.8% |
| Other record types | 3,652 | 71.9% |
| Total | 5,080 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Paihia compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Paihia is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Far North District as a whole, the share is 2.2%; Paihia is higher than the overall Far North District share (2.2%), though both are small.
Its cross-lease share is the lowest of 7 in Far North District (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Paihia are set up
Fewer leases include a garage (8% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
Carports appear in fewer leases (6% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
Separate exclusive-use areas are more common (10% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Paihia | Far North District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 48 | 428 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 77.1% | 73.4% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 8.3% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 14.6% | 15.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 1,076 m² | 1,018 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 506 m² | 454 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 8.3% | 13.6% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 6.2% | 6.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 10.4% | 3.3% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 37.5% | 25.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1992 | 1991 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 36 | 293 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Paihia
Unit titles are 7% of Paihia's titles, well above Far North District (2%) and slightly below New Zealand (8%). They belong to 29 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 8 units or fewer.
The unit-title share is the highest of 7 in Far North District.
43 titles (0.8%) are leasehold, 30 of them units in a unit-title development.
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 | 4 |
| Under 10 years left | 1 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 3 |
| More than 50 years left | 0 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 3 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 32 |
New titles in Paihia since 2020
72 of Paihia's current titles (1%) were first issued since 2020, well below Far North District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (8%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
That rate is the lowest of 7 in Far North District.
22% are unit titles, in 2 developments; most of the rest are freehold.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 51 | 21 |
| Unit title | 16 | 16 |
| Cross-lease | 5 | 4 |
| 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 Paihia
The typical building in Paihia stands on ground sloping 9.0° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), the steepest of 7 in Far North District.
About 29% of its 1,150 measured buildings stand on ground of 15° or more.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Paihia
34% of Paihia's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 97% within 500 m and 100% within 1 km. The typical title is 450 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 Paihia: 2023 Census
About 94% of Paihia's titles are in the census area Paihia (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Paihia exactly.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Paihia than across Far North District: 16.1% against 4.1%.
More residents were born overseas in Paihia than across Far North District: 27.9% against 15.6%.
Fewer homes are stand-alone houses in Paihia than across Far North District: 50.4% against 86.7%.
| Measure | Paihia | Far North District whole council |
|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 1,623 | 71,430 |
| Change since 2018 | +7.3% | +9.5% |
| Change since 2013 | +25.8% | +28.2% |
| Median age | 51 | 44.3 |
| Households | 660 | 25,374 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 60.5% | 71.7% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 39.5% | 28.3% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $65,500 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $360 | $320 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 27.5% | 20.3% |
| Ages | ||
| Under 15 | 11.6% | 19.9% |
| 15 to 29 | 14.4% | 15.3% |
| 30 to 64 | 45.5% | 42.8% |
| 65 and over | 28.1% | 22.0% |
| Where people came from | ||
| Born overseas | 27.9% | 15.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 29.3% | 15.4% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 51.7% | 46.9% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 7.8% | 4.1% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 25.5% | 17.9% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 18.1% | 16.6% |
| Employed full-time | 44.0% | 40.1% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.4% | 4.7% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 45.7% | 41.8% |
| Median personal income | $35,100 | $29,700 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||
| Work from home | 25.4% | 22.8% |
| Car, truck or van | 55.4% | 71.8% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 2.1% | 0.3% |
| Walk or cycle | 16.1% | 4.1% |
| Households and families | ||
| One-person households | 33.2% | 26.4% |
| Average people per household | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 7.0% | 4.7% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 7.7% | 9.4% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 22.3% | 32.3% |
| Couples without children | 62.8% | 46.6% |
| One-parent families | 14.0% | 21.1% |
| Homes | ||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 50.4% | 86.7% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.7 | 3 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 62.0% | 43.4% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 23.4% | 28.6% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 22.7% | 23.4% |
Rents around Paihia
New tenancies in Paihia in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $500 a week (up 8.7% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Far North District ($500), and slightly below the national median ($600); joint 2nd lowest of 5 in Far North District.
| April–June 2026 | Paihia | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $500 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $450–$555 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +8.7% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 21 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Paihia
One school site lies inside Paihia: Paihia School (Full Primary).
- Paihia School (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Paihia School (2.1 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Bay of Islands College (9.9 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Bay of Islands Hospital (10.5 km)
School enrolment zones in Paihia: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Paihia's titles: Bay of Islands College.
- 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 Paihia
OpenStreetMap maps 3 places of worship inside Paihia (3 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Paihia Baptist Church, 1.9 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%)
- Kaikohe: 110 cross-lease titles (4.3%)
- Haruru: 45 cross-lease titles (5.4%)
- Kawakawa: 38 cross-lease titles (3.4%)
- Coopers Beach: 33 cross-lease titles (5.1%)
All suburbs in Far North District
Suburbs like Paihia
The closest match on the measures on this site is Riverside, Whangarei District in Whangarei District, nearest on distance to the coast, unit-title share, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside, Whangarei District | Whangarei District | 8.0% | $570 | 42.7 | distance to the coast, unit-title share, elevation |
| Haruru | Far North District | 5.4% | No data | 48.8 | distance to the coast, household income, born overseas |
| Parahaka | Whangarei District | 10.2% | $570 | 42.7 | distance to the coast, land per flat, population change |
| Coopers Beach | Far North District | 5.1% | $550 | 55.4 | distance to the coast, elevation, working from home |
| Tairua | Thames-Coromandel District | 2.5% | $458 | 59.1 | cross-lease share, schools, distance to the coast |
Questions
What is the rent in Paihia?
New tenancies in the Paihia rent area had a median rent of $500 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 $555.
What schools are in Paihia?
LINZ maps 1 school site inside Paihia: Paihia School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Bay of Islands College (9.9 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.