Living in Waikawa, Marlborough District: schools, census and property titles
The 979 live property titles in Waikawa, Marlborough District are almost all freehold (90%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 47 (4.8%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
Waikawa, Marlborough District cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 47
- Share of live titles
- 4.8%
- Live titles in total
- 979
- Marlborough District share
- 7.4%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Marlborough District
- 9 of 10
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 502 of 644
Waikawa at a glance
Where Waikawa differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: median age (higher than 98% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Waikawa is listed under Marlborough District.
- 979 live titles are recorded here, including 47 cross-lease titles (4.8%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 4.8% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 3.9% 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 Waikawa
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 880 | 89.9% |
| Cross lease | 47 | 4.8% |
| Unit title | 38 | 3.9% |
| Leasehold | 0 | 0.0% |
| Other record types | 14 | 1.4% |
| Total | 979 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Waikawa compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Waikawa is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Marlborough District as a whole, the share is 7.4%; Waikawa is well below the overall Marlborough District share (7.4%).
Its cross-lease share is 2nd lowest of 10 in Marlborough District (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Waikawa are set up
More schemes have four or more flats on one section (32%, against 11% nationally), up to 10.
Fewer leases include a garage (11% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Waikawa | Marlborough District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 19 | 989 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 68.4% | 77.5% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 0.0% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 31.6% | 10.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 887 m² | 870 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 421 m² | 394 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 10.5% | 35.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 0.0% | 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) | 31.6% | 31.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1988 | 1989 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 12 | 593 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Waikawa
Unit titles are 4% of Waikawa's titles, well above Marlborough District (2%) and well below New Zealand (8%). They belong to 3 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 13 units or fewer.
The unit-title share is 3rd highest of 10 in Marlborough District.
New titles in Waikawa since 2020
37 of Waikawa'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.
16% are unit titles, in 1 development; most of the rest are freehold.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 29 | 9 |
| Unit title | 6 | 1 |
| Cross-lease | 1 | 1 |
| Leasehold | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 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 Waikawa
The typical building in Waikawa stands on ground sloping 3.1° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), 2nd steepest of 10 in Marlborough District.
About 13% of its 1,380 measured buildings stand on ground of 15° or more.
The land rises from about 0 m to 969 m, and 83% 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 Waikawa
31% of Waikawa's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 51% within 500 m and 95% 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 Waikawa: 2023 Census
About 96% of Waikawa's titles are in the census area Waikawa (Marlborough District) (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Waikawa exactly.
Fewer households have no car in Waikawa (Marlborough District) than across Marlborough District: 2.3% against 4.4%.
Fewer workers walk or cycle to work in Waikawa (Marlborough District) than across Marlborough District: 5.0% against 8.0%.
More residents are 65 or over in Waikawa (Marlborough District) than across Marlborough District: 37.6% against 23.9%.
| Measure | Waikawa (Marlborough District) | Marlborough District whole council |
|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 1,659 | 49,431 |
| Change since 2018 | +7.6% | +4.4% |
| Change since 2013 | +21.0% | +13.9% |
| Median age | 58.8 | 46.1 |
| Households | 702 | 19,587 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 81.2% | 74.0% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 18.4% | 26.0% |
| Median household income | $74,200 | $81,700 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $420 | $384 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 24.0% | 17.9% |
| Ages | ||
| Under 15 | 12.8% | 16.7% |
| 15 to 29 | 8.7% | 14.4% |
| 30 to 64 | 40.9% | 45.0% |
| 65 and over | 37.6% | 23.9% |
| Where people came from | ||
| Born overseas | 20.2% | 19.7% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 11.8% | 24.6% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 45.9% | 44.3% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 3.5% | 3.6% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 16.0% | 16.6% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 18.3% | 18.5% |
| Employed full-time | 39.4% | 49.6% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 1.5% | 1.7% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 43.0% | 39.0% |
| Median personal income | $36,700 | $39,400 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||
| Work from home | 18.2% | 16.7% |
| Car, truck or van | 75.6% | 74.1% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Walk or cycle | 5.0% | 8.0% |
| Households and families | ||
| One-person households | 24.3% | 25.6% |
| Average people per household | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 2.3% | 4.4% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 2.7% | 3.5% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 23.7% | 34.2% |
| Couples without children | 66.9% | 53.2% |
| One-parent families | 10.1% | 12.6% |
| Homes | ||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 89.2% | 84.9% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 77.0% | 66.7% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 8.6% | 11.0% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 5.4% | 7.1% |
Schools and hospitals near Waikawa
One school site lies inside Waikawa: Waikawa Bay School (Contributing).
- Waikawa Bay School (Contributing)
- Nearest school: Waikawa Bay School (1.2 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Queen Charlotte College (1.5 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Wairau Hospital (29.3 km)
School enrolment zones in Waikawa: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Waikawa's titles: Queen Charlotte College.
- Waikawa Bay School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Queen Charlotte College (Year 9-15) (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Queen Charlotte College (Year 7-8) (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 Waikawa
OpenStreetMap maps 1 place of worship inside Waikawa (1 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Picton Baptist Church, 1.4 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%)
- Riversdale: 49 cross-lease titles (8.0%)
- Renwick: 33 cross-lease titles (2.5%)
All suburbs in Marlborough District
Suburbs like Waikawa
The closest match on the measures on this site is Picton in Marlborough District, nearest on distance to the coast, children, commuting by public transport. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picton | Marlborough District | 13.0% | $550 | 54.4 | distance to the coast, children, commuting by public transport |
| Geraldine | Timaru District | 5.3% | $470 | 53.2 | heat pumps, cross-lease share, commuting by public transport |
| Waihi Beach | Western Bay of Plenty District | 4.1% | $620 | 58.8 | median age, schools, distance to the coast |
| Whangamatā | Thames-Coromandel District | 15.3% | $640 | 59.9 | unit-title share, commuting by public transport, distance to the coast |
| Motueka | Tasman District | 3.0% | No data | 52.7 | heat pumps, distance to the coast, distance to a hospital |
Questions
What schools are in Waikawa, Marlborough District?
LINZ maps 1 school site inside Waikawa: Waikawa Bay School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Queen Charlotte College (1.5 km in a straight line). The secondary-school home zone covering most of its titles is Queen Charlotte College; check the school's own zone map for any address.