Living in Matamata: schools, census and property titles
The 5,370 live property titles in Matamata, Matamata-Piako District are almost all freehold (91%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 266 (5.0%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 266
- Share of live titles
- 5.0%
- Live titles in total
- 5,370
- Matamata-Piako District share
- 3.3%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Matamata-Piako District
- 2 of 3
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 496 of 644
Matamata at a glance
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Matamata is listed under Matamata-Piako District.
- 5,370 live titles are recorded here, including 266 cross-lease titles (5.0%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 5.0% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 3.2% 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 Matamata
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 4,864 | 90.6% |
| Cross lease | 266 | 5.0% |
| Unit title | 173 | 3.2% |
| Leasehold | 54 | 1.0% |
| Other record types | 13 | 0.2% |
| Total | 5,370 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Matamata compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Matamata is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Matamata-Piako District as a whole, the share is 3.3%; Matamata is about 1.5 times the overall Matamata-Piako District share (3.3%).
How cross-leases in Matamata are set up
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (13%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
Separate exclusive-use areas are less common (2% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
Carports appear in fewer leases (7% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Matamata | Matamata-Piako District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 120 | 273 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 85.0% | 83.5% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 9.2% | 9.5% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 5.8% | 6.6% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 828 m² | 951 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 402 m² | 431 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 25.0% | 27.1% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 6.7% | 11.0% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 1.7% | 2.9% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 12.5% | 23.8% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1984 | 1986 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 95 | 212 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Matamata
Unit titles are 3% of Matamata's titles, well above Matamata-Piako District (2%) and well below New Zealand (8%). They belong to 6 developments, each run by a body corporate; 1 has 50 or more units.
54 titles (1.0%) are leasehold.
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 | 2 |
| Under 10 years left | 0 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 1 |
| More than 50 years left | 42 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 8 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 1 |
New titles in Matamata since 2020
883 of Matamata's current titles (16%) were first issued since 2020, close to Matamata-Piako District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (15%) and above New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 847 | 514 |
| Unit title | 21 | 21 |
| Cross-lease | 2 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 4 | 2 |
| Other | 9 | 6 |
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 Matamata
The typical building in Matamata stands on ground sloping 0.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Nearly all of its 8,667 measured buildings (98%) stand on ground under 5°.
The land rises from about 28 m to 213 m, and 8% 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 Matamata
Matamata is inland: the typical title is 26 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 Matamata: 2023 Census
Matamata's titles fall in 6 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 3 shown below hold 85% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
Fewer workers work from home in Matamata West than across Matamata-Piako District: 12.5% against 21.9%.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Matamata West than across Matamata-Piako District: 6.4% against 4.2%.
More residents are 65 or over in Matamata West than across Matamata-Piako District: 27.2% against 21.5%.
| Measure | Matamata West 32% of titles | Matamata North 31% of titles | Matamata East 22% of titles | Matamata-Piako District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 3,480 | 3,300 | 2,355 | 37,098 |
| Change since 2018 | +14.4% | +2.3% | +32.4% | +7.8% |
| Change since 2013 | +27.3% | +11.1% | +51.3% | +17.6% |
| Median age | 43.4 | 46.7 | 53.6 | 40.8 |
| Households | 1,326 | 1,368 | 984 | 13,965 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 74.2% | 70.8% | 81.4% | 69.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 25.6% | 28.9% | 18.6% | 30.6% |
| Median household income | $75,400 | $70,000 | $64,200 | $86,200 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $420 | $400 | $400 | $350 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 5.7% | 6.3% | 6.7% | 7.0% |
| Ages | ||||
| Under 15 | 17.8% | 16.7% | 15.4% | 19.7% |
| 15 to 29 | 17.0% | 15.5% | 13.8% | 16.7% |
| 30 to 64 | 37.8% | 38.7% | 35.4% | 42.1% |
| 65 and over | 27.2% | 29.1% | 35.4% | 21.5% |
| Where people came from | ||||
| Born overseas | 17.5% | 17.9% | 19.5% | 15.8% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 19.0% | 19.7% | 20.7% | 19.3% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 53.1% | 45.8% | 53.5% | 47.3% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.9% | 2.7% | 3.2% | 2.6% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 17.5% | 18.5% | 15.9% | 18.4% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 12.2% | 12.2% | 15.9% | 14.9% |
| Employed full-time | 46.6% | 45.4% | 40.4% | 50.1% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 1.8% | 2.6% | 0.9% | 2.1% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 33.9% | 32.1% | 37.5% | 42.4% |
| Median personal income | $36,100 | $35,800 | $34,300 | $40,000 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||||
| Work from home | 12.5% | 10.7% | 13.4% | 21.9% |
| Car, truck or van | 80.6% | 81.2% | 81.5% | 71.7% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Walk or cycle | 6.4% | 7.7% | 4.5% | 4.2% |
| Households and families | ||||
| One-person households | 25.6% | 31.2% | 29.2% | 23.9% |
| Average people per household | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 4.2% | 5.8% | 3.8% | 3.7% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 4.0% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 4.1% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 34.6% | 32.1% | 31.0% | 38.6% |
| Couples without children | 49.0% | 52.4% | 59.7% | 47.0% |
| One-parent families | 16.7% | 15.5% | 9.3% | 14.5% |
| Homes | ||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 88.5% | 84.6% | 71.2% | 88.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.2 | 3 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 82.3% | 81.1% | 84.7% | 73.8% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 13.9% | 13.4% | 8.7% | 16.2% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 10.0% | 10.0% | 7.7% | 12.4% |
Schools and hospitals near Matamata
LINZ maps 7 school sites inside Matamata, among them Firth School (Contributing) and Hinuera School (Contributing).
- Firth School (Contributing)
- Hinuera School (Contributing)
- Matamata Christian School (Full Primary)
- Matamata College (Secondary (Year 9-15))
- Matamata Intermediate (Intermediate)
- Matamata Primary School (Contributing)
- St Joseph's Catholic School (Matamata) (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Firth School (3.2 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Matamata College (3.4 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Rhoda Read Hospital (30.2 km)
School enrolment zones in Matamata: a guide
The largest primary-school zone share of Matamata's titles is in Matamata Primary School's home zone (about 55%).
- Matamata Primary School (primary, Years 1–6): about 55% of titles
- Firth School (primary, Years 1–6): about 45% of titles
- Hinuera School (primary, Years 1–6): about 5% of titles
- Matamata Intermediate School (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 Matamata
OpenStreetMap maps 8 places of worship inside Matamata (7 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Saint Andrews Presbyterian, 4.0 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Matamata-Piako District overview
Suburbs like Matamata
The closest match on the measures on this site is Cambridge in Waipa District, nearest on slope, schools, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Waipa District | 8.1% | $685 | 45.8 | slope, schools, elevation |
| Paeroa | Hauraki District | 2.7% | $500 | 51.5 | working from home, distance to a hospital, commuting by public transport |
| Morrinsville | Matamata-Piako District | 5.2% | $555 | 41.8 | commuting by public transport, cross-lease share, population change |
| Te Aroha | Matamata-Piako District | 3.1% | $560 | 49.2 | commuting by public transport, degrees, working from home |
| Katikati | Western Bay of Plenty District | 5.1% | No data | 46 | cross-lease share, commuting by public transport, stand-alone houses |
Questions
What schools are in Matamata?
LINZ maps 7 school sites inside Matamata, including Firth School, Hinuera School and Matamata Christian School. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Matamata College (3.4 km in a straight line). Being near a school does not mean being in its zone.