Living in Melville: schools, census and property titles
The 2,458 live property titles in Melville, Hamilton City are mostly freehold (66%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 326 (13.3%), well above the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 326
- Share of live titles
- 13.3%
- Live titles in total
- 2,458
- Hamilton City share
- 11.2%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Hamilton City
- 13 of 28
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 247 of 644
Melville at a glance
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Melville is listed under Hamilton City.
- 2,458 live titles are recorded here, including 326 cross-lease titles (13.3%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 13.3% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 16.1% 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
- 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 Melville
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,610 | 65.5% |
| Cross lease | 326 | 13.3% |
| Unit title | 395 | 16.1% |
| Leasehold | 60 | 2.4% |
| Other record types | 67 | 2.7% |
| Total | 2,458 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Melville compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Melville is about 1.5 times the national share (8.7%).
Across Hamilton City as a whole, the share is 11.2%; Melville is slightly higher than the overall Hamilton City share (11.2%).
How cross-leases in Melville are set up
Separate exclusive-use areas are less common (2% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Melville | Hamilton City | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 135 | 3,528 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 78.5% | 81.5% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 11.1% | 9.5% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 10.4% | 8.7% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 981 m² | 1,006 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 444 m² | 465 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 28.1% | 31.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 16.3% | 11.9% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 2.2% | 2.9% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 37.0% | 39.0% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 105 | 2,831 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Melville
Unit titles are 16% of Melville's titles, above Hamilton City (12%) and well above New Zealand (8%). They belong to 64 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 5 units or fewer.
The unit-title share is in the highest quarter of 28 in Hamilton City.
60 titles (2.4%) are leasehold, 13 of them units in a unit-title development, well above the national share (1.2%).
2 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 | 1 |
| Under 10 years left | 1 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 3 |
| More than 50 years left | 41 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 1 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 13 |
New titles in Melville since 2020
255 of Melville's current titles (10%) were first issued since 2020, below Hamilton City's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (13%) and slightly below New Zealand (12%).
25% are unit titles, in 12 developments; most of the rest are freehold.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 167 | 107 |
| Unit title | 65 | 30 |
| Cross-lease | 3 | 3 |
| Leasehold | 8 | 3 |
| Other | 12 | 5 |
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 Melville
The typical building in Melville stands on ground sloping 1.0° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Melville
Melville is inland: the typical title is 27 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 Melville: 2023 Census
Melville's titles fall in 7 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 3 shown below hold 95% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Melville North than across Hamilton City: 24.5% against 6.0%.
Fewer households own their home in Melville North than across Hamilton City: 29.3% against 53.5%.
Fewer residents are 65 or over in Melville North than across Hamilton City: 7.1% against 12.5%.
| Measure | Melville North 48% of titles | Melville South 36% of titles | Deanwell 11% of titles | Hamilton City whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 3,147 | 2,505 | 2,076 | 174,741 |
| Change since 2018 | +13.5% | +2.2% | −2.9% | +8.6% |
| Change since 2013 | +31.1% | +14.4% | +3.9% | +23.4% |
| Median age | 32.4 | 30.6 | 32 | 33.2 |
| Households | 1,116 | 804 | 663 | 60,435 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 29.3% | 44.0% | 52.5% | 53.5% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 70.7% | 56.3% | 48.0% | 46.4% |
| Median household income | $101,500 | $89,900 | $89,100 | $96,500 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $460 | $450 | $450 | $465 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 8.0% | 7.0% | 5.5% | 6.5% |
| Ages | ||||
| Under 15 | 18.8% | 25.4% | 24.7% | 20.9% |
| 15 to 29 | 23.7% | 23.1% | 21.2% | 23.4% |
| 30 to 64 | 50.5% | 41.2% | 44.2% | 43.2% |
| 65 and over | 7.1% | 10.2% | 10.0% | 12.5% |
| Where people came from | ||||
| Born overseas | 42.5% | 29.0% | 29.2% | 30.4% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 46.5% | 29.2% | 23.0% | 26.6% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 57.1% | 48.0% | 44.3% | 50.7% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 8.5% | 4.8% | 3.1% | 5.0% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 34.2% | 23.8% | 18.6% | 23.9% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 37.1% | 23.6% | 23.7% | 29.0% |
| Employed full-time | 60.9% | 53.9% | 52.4% | 52.6% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 4.9% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 3.9% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 46.0% | 35.1% | 35.9% | 42.7% |
| Median personal income | $48,700 | $39,100 | $41,700 | $42,200 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||||
| Work from home | 7.9% | 8.3% | 10.4% | 12.5% |
| Car, truck or van | 63.2% | 81.2% | 79.8% | 77.4% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| Walk or cycle | 24.5% | 5.8% | 4.0% | 6.0% |
| Households and families | ||||
| One-person households | 23.2% | 18.1% | 16.8% | 21.8% |
| Average people per household | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3 | 2.8 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 8.3% | 7.4% | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 11.0% | 13.3% | 11.2% | 7.5% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 42.0% | 43.5% | 44.3% | 43.3% |
| Couples without children | 34.5% | 29.5% | 27.6% | 35.8% |
| One-parent families | 23.1% | 27.5% | 28.7% | 21.0% |
| Homes | ||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 52.4% | 81.0% | 86.5% | 73.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3 | 3 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 74.6% | 77.4% | 78.4% | 77.6% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 21.5% | 29.1% | 22.1% | 18.8% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 17.3% | 24.0% | 21.1% | 15.3% |
Schools and hospitals near Melville
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Melville, among them Mangakōtukutuku College (Secondary (Year 7-15)) and Melville Primary School (Contributing).
- Mangakōtukutuku College (Secondary (Year 7-15))
- Melville Primary School (Contributing)
- Southcity Christian School (Full Primary)
- St Pius X Catholic School (Melville) (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Mangakōtukutuku College (0.2 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Mangakōtukutuku College (0.2 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Waikato Hospital (1.1 km)
School enrolment zones in Melville: a guide
The largest primary-school zone share of Melville's titles is in Melville Primary School's home zone (about 65%).
- Melville Primary School (primary, Years 1–6): about 65% of titles
- Deanwell School (primary, Years 1–6): about 60% of titles
- Hamilton West School (primary, Years 1–8): 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
Places of worship near Melville
OpenStreetMap maps 5 places of worship inside Melville (5 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Hamilton South Baptist Church, under 1 km away
- Muslim: Jamia Masjid, 4.4 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Hamilton City with many cross-leases
- Nawton: 1,058 cross-lease titles (26.3%)
- Hamilton East: 1,027 cross-lease titles (15.9%)
- Frankton: 675 cross-lease titles (13.7%)
- Dinsdale: 643 cross-lease titles (17.9%)
- Fairfield: 473 cross-lease titles (17.8%)
- St Andrews: 411 cross-lease titles (17.4%)
- Hillcrest: 345 cross-lease titles (12.2%)
- Claudelands: 333 cross-lease titles (25.2%)
Suburbs like Melville
The closest match on the measures on this site is Frankton, Hamilton City in Hamilton City, nearest on cross-lease share, elevation, slope. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankton, Hamilton City | Hamilton City | 13.7% | $525 | 31.5 | cross-lease share, elevation, slope |
| Claudelands | Hamilton City | 25.2% | $400 | 35.1 | slope, elevation, distance to the coast |
| Hamilton East | Hamilton City | 15.9% | $455 | 32.9 | land per flat, elevation, slope |
| Hillcrest, Hamilton City | Hamilton City | 12.2% | $470 | 29.1 | elevation, born overseas, older residents |
| Hamilton Lake | Hamilton City | 12.6% | No data | 36.8 | distance to a hospital, distance to the coast, elevation |
Questions
What schools are in Melville?
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Melville, including Mangakōtukutuku College, Melville Primary School and Southcity Christian School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Mangakōtukutuku College (0.2 km in a straight line). Being near a school does not mean being in its zone.