Living in Riversdale, Marlborough District: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 612 live property titles in Riversdale, Marlborough District are almost all freehold (92%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 49 (8.0%), slightly below the national share of 8.7%.
Riversdale, Marlborough District cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 49
- Share of live titles
- 8.0%
- Live titles in total
- 612
- Marlborough District share
- 7.4%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Marlborough District
- 7 of 10
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 384 of 644
Riversdale at a glance
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Riversdale is listed under Marlborough District.
- 612 live titles are recorded here, including 49 cross-lease titles (8.0%).
- 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 8.0% 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 Riversdale
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 563 | 92.0% |
| Cross lease | 49 | 8.0% |
| Unit title | 0 | 0.0% |
| Leasehold | 0 | 0.0% |
| Other record types | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 612 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Riversdale compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Riversdale is slightly lower than the national share (8.7%).
Across Marlborough District as a whole, the share is 7.4%; Riversdale is slightly higher than the overall Marlborough District share (7.4%).
How cross-leases in Riversdale are set up
Carports appear in more leases (23% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
Three-flat schemes are less common here (9%, against 12% nationally).
The schemes are older than the national median: half have their earliest current title from 1978 or before (New Zealand: 1988).
| Scheme structure | Riversdale | Marlborough District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 22 | 989 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 81.8% | 77.5% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 9.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 9.1% | 10.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 864 m² | 870 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 403 m² | 394 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 27.3% | 35.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 22.7% | 11.2% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 0.0% | 2.4% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 31.8% | 31.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1978 | 1989 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 13 | 593 | 54,978 |
New titles in Riversdale since 2020
22 of Riversdale's current titles (4%) were first issued since 2020, well below Marlborough District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (8%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
That rate is joint lowest of 10 in Marlborough District.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 22 | 5 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 0 | 0 |
| 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 Riversdale
The typical building in Riversdale stands on ground sloping 0.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Nearly all of its 1,127 measured buildings (97%) stand on ground under 5°.
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 Riversdale
Riversdale is inland: the typical title is 6.3 km from the sea or harbour edge, and none is 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 Riversdale: 2023 Census
About 100% of Riversdale's titles are in the census area Riversdale-Islington (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Riversdale exactly.
Fewer workers work from home in Riversdale-Islington than across Marlborough District: 9.7% against 16.7%.
Fewer adults hold a degree in Riversdale-Islington than across Marlborough District: 12.6% against 18.5%.
Fewer residents are 65 or over in Riversdale-Islington than across Marlborough District: 18.6% against 23.9%.
| Measure | Riversdale-Islington | Marlborough District whole council |
|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,322 | 49,431 |
| Change since 2018 | +0.1% | +4.4% |
| Change since 2013 | +12.2% | +13.9% |
| Median age | 39.7 | 46.1 |
| Households | 858 | 19,587 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 71.7% | 74.0% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 28.3% | 26.0% |
| Median household income | $74,700 | $81,700 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $380 | $384 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 5.8% | 17.9% |
| Ages | ||
| Under 15 | 18.7% | 16.7% |
| 15 to 29 | 18.5% | 14.4% |
| 30 to 64 | 44.2% | 45.0% |
| 65 and over | 18.6% | 23.9% |
| Where people came from | ||
| Born overseas | 18.1% | 19.7% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 27.0% | 24.6% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 42.0% | 44.3% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.7% | 3.6% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 17.3% | 16.6% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 12.6% | 18.5% |
| Employed full-time | 52.3% | 49.6% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 26.8% | 39.0% |
| Median personal income | $38,600 | $39,400 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||
| Work from home | 9.7% | 16.7% |
| Car, truck or van | 82.6% | 74.1% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Walk or cycle | 7.0% | 8.0% |
| Households and families | ||
| One-person households | 25.5% | 25.6% |
| Average people per household | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 4.3% | 4.4% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 7.5% | 3.5% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 33.7% | 34.2% |
| Couples without children | 44.2% | 53.2% |
| One-parent families | 22.1% | 12.6% |
| Homes | ||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 87.8% | 84.9% |
| Average bedrooms | 3 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 61.9% | 66.7% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 16.3% | 11.0% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 10.2% | 7.1% |
Rents around Riversdale
New tenancies in Riversdale-Islington in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $520 a week (up 4.0% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Marlborough District ($550), and slightly below the national median ($600); joint lowest of 7 in Marlborough District.
| April–June 2026 | Riversdale-Islington | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $520 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $435–$585 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +4.0% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 12 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Riversdale
No school site lies inside Riversdale's boundary; the nearest is Blenheim School, 1.4 km away in a straight line.
- Nearest school: Blenheim School (1.4 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Marlborough Boys' College (1.9 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Wairau Hospital (4.0 km)
School enrolment zones in Riversdale: a guide
The largest school zone share of Riversdale's titles is in Bohally Intermediate's home zone (all or nearly all).
- Bohally Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): 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 Riversdale
No place of worship is mapped in OpenStreetMap inside Riversdale's boundary.
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Riverside Christian Centre, 1.1 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Marlborough District with many cross-leases
- Blenheim: 664 cross-lease titles (18.2%)
- Redwoodtown: 499 cross-lease titles (19.8%)
- Witherlea: 400 cross-lease titles (14.5%)
- Picton: 272 cross-lease titles (13.0%)
- Springlands: 153 cross-lease titles (6.5%)
- Mayfield: 113 cross-lease titles (11.8%)
- Waikawa: 47 cross-lease titles (4.8%)
- Renwick: 33 cross-lease titles (2.5%)
All suburbs in Marlborough District
Suburbs like Riversdale
The closest match on the measures on this site is Islington, Marlborough District in Marlborough District, nearest on rent, median age, children. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islington, Marlborough District | Marlborough District | 9.9% | $520 | 39.7 | rent, median age, children |
| Mayfield, Marlborough District | Marlborough District | 11.8% | No data | 39.3 | commuting by public transport, slope, elevation |
| Cloverlea | Palmerston North City | 13.8% | $565 | 35.7 | stand-alone houses, population change, slope |
| Redwoodtown | Marlborough District | 19.8% | $535 | 41.8 | commuting by public transport, slope, land per flat |
| Renwick | Marlborough District | 2.5% | $630 | 40.9 | unit-title share, recent movers within NZ, commuting by public transport |
Questions
What is the rent in Riversdale, Marlborough District?
New tenancies in Riversdale-Islington (the rent area for part of Riversdale) had a median rent of $520 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 $435 to $585.
What schools are in Riversdale, Marlborough District?
No school site lies inside Riversdale's boundary. The nearest school is Blenheim School (1.4 km in a straight line). Being near a school does not mean being in its zone.