Living in Sunnybrook: schools, census and property titles
The 838 live property titles in Sunnybrook, Rotorua District are almost all freehold (85%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 107 (12.8%), above the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 107
- Share of live titles
- 12.8%
- Live titles in total
- 838
- Rotorua District share
- 12.8%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Rotorua District
- 13 of 20
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 259 of 644
Sunnybrook at a glance
Where Sunnybrook differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: typical distance to the coast (higher than 96% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Sunnybrook is listed under Rotorua District.
- 838 live titles are recorded here, including 107 cross-lease titles (12.8%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 12.8% 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
- 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 Sunnybrook
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 713 | 85.1% |
| Cross lease | 107 | 12.8% |
| Unit title | 0 | 0.0% |
| Leasehold | 18 | 2.1% |
| Other record types | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 838 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Sunnybrook compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Sunnybrook is higher than the national share (8.7%).
Across Rotorua District as a whole, the share is 12.8%; Sunnybrook is close to the overall Rotorua District share (12.8%).
How cross-leases in Sunnybrook are set up
Three-flat schemes are less common here (2%, against 12% nationally).
Fewer schemes have four or more flats on one section (6%, against 11% nationally).
More land per flat than is typical in New Zealand: about 600 m² per flat, against 408 m².
| Scheme structure | Sunnybrook | Rotorua District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 53 | 1,958 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 92.5% | 82.2% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 1.9% | 9.2% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 5.7% | 8.3% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 1,211 m² | 1,022 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 600 m² | 506 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 34.0% | 23.4% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 0.0% | 5.5% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 0.0% | 4.0% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 30.2% | 27.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1987 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 49 | 1,565 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Sunnybrook
18 titles (2.1%) are leasehold.
Most stated terms have more than 50 years to run.
Stated lease terms, as at 30 September 2026:
| Stated lease term | Titles |
|---|---|
| Stated term has ended | 0 |
| Under 10 years left | 0 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 0 |
| More than 50 years left | 17 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 0 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 1 |
New titles in Sunnybrook since 2020
24 of Sunnybrook's current titles (3%) were first issued since 2020, well below Rotorua District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (8%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
Most came recently: 19 since 2023.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 24 | 19 |
| 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 Sunnybrook
The typical building in Sunnybrook stands on ground sloping 2.9° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), in the steepest quarter of 20 in Rotorua District.
The land rises from about 286 m to 465 m, and 18% of all of it, including reserves and gullies, is 15° or steeper.
Unusually much of the sloping land faces north: 36%, where about a quarter would if slopes faced every way equally.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Sunnybrook
Sunnybrook is inland: the typical title is 47 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 Sunnybrook: 2023 Census
About 85% of Sunnybrook's titles are in the census area Sunnybrook (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Sunnybrook exactly.
Fewer households have no car in Sunnybrook than across Rotorua District: 2.5% against 6.1%.
Fewer workers work from home in Sunnybrook than across Rotorua District: 11.1% against 14.2%.
Fewer people live alone in Sunnybrook than across Rotorua District: 19.1% against 23.5%.
| Measure | Sunnybrook | Pukehangi South | Rotorua District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,046 | 2,520 | 74,058 |
| Change since 2018 | −1.0% | −2.0% | +3.0% |
| Change since 2013 | +8.6% | +6.1% | +13.4% |
| Median age | 35.5 | 41.3 | 36.6 |
| Households | 696 | 900 | 25,413 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 74.1% | 78.3% | 64.5% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 25.4% | 21.3% | 35.5% |
| Median household income | $102,600 | $93,000 | $87,700 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $487 | $500 | $400 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 4.1% | 10.4% | 12.8% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 21.1% | 19.5% | 21.7% |
| 15 to 29 | 19.8% | 16.3% | 19.0% |
| 30 to 64 | 45.2% | 44.3% | 43.7% |
| 65 and over | 13.9% | 19.9% | 15.6% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 18.8% | 20.5% | 18.1% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 18.1% | 15.4% | 22.9% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 40.7% | 38.5% | 44.8% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 3.6% | 3.1% | 3.6% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 15.6% | 14.6% | 18.9% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 22.4% | 21.3% | 20.3% |
| Employed full-time | 55.9% | 53.3% | 50.3% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.2% | 1.8% | 4.4% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 40.5% | 40.4% | 41.0% |
| Median personal income | $44,400 | $42,800 | $39,000 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 11.1% | 10.1% | 14.2% |
| Car, truck or van | 85.0% | 86.3% | 79.6% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 1.3% | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Walk or cycle | 2.4% | 1.6% | 4.1% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 19.1% | 22.9% | 23.5% |
| Average people per household | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 2.5% | 4.3% | 6.1% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 7.2% | 2.7% | 8.8% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 41.6% | 42.4% | 38.7% |
| Couples without children | 37.6% | 43.3% | 38.1% |
| One-parent families | 20.2% | 14.7% | 23.2% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 90.6% | 89.7% | 81.6% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 65.5% | 67.3% | 59.6% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 24.5% | 14.6% | 23.6% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 16.5% | 10.3% | 18.7% |
Schools and hospitals near Sunnybrook
No school site lies inside Sunnybrook's boundary; the nearest is Westbrook School, 1.0 km away in a straight line.
- Nearest school: Westbrook School (1.0 km)
- Nearest secondary school: John Paul College (1.8 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Rotorua Hospital (3.9 km)
School enrolment zones in Sunnybrook: a guide
Four secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Sunnybrook's titles, among them John Paul College, Rotorua Boys' High School and Rotorua Girls' High School.
- Westbrook School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- John Paul College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Rotorua Boys' High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Rotorua Girls' High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Western Heights High School (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 Sunnybrook
No place of worship is mapped in OpenStreetMap inside Sunnybrook's boundary.
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Equippers Church Rotorua, 1.2 km away
- Hindu: Hindu Heritage Centre Rotorua, 2.1 km away
- Muslim: Rotorua Islamic Association, 2.7 km away
- Sikh: Gurdwara Sri Guru Amardas Sahib Ji, 4.2 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Rotorua District with many cross-leases
- Glenholme: 569 cross-lease titles (29.6%)
- Ōwhata: 365 cross-lease titles (12.6%)
- Victoria: 355 cross-lease titles (34.2%)
- Western Heights: 320 cross-lease titles (25.4%)
- Mangakakahi: 283 cross-lease titles (16.1%)
- Koutu: 277 cross-lease titles (27.8%)
- Ngongotahā: 263 cross-lease titles (12.4%)
- Pukehangi: 243 cross-lease titles (13.5%)
All suburbs in Rotorua District
Suburbs like Sunnybrook
The closest match on the measures on this site is Pomare in Rotorua District, nearest on unit-title share, slope, stand-alone houses. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomare | Rotorua District | 11.0% | No data | 41.3 | unit-title share, slope, stand-alone houses |
| Hillcrest, Rotorua District | Rotorua District | 10.5% | $640 | 33.1 | unit-title share, distance to the coast, recent movers within NZ |
| Kawaha Point | Rotorua District | 18.2% | $665 | 39.6 | population change, heat pumps, new titles |
| Fairy Spring | Rotorua District | 16.8% | No data | 33.8 | distance to a hospital, population change, older residents |
| Ngongotahā | Rotorua District | 12.4% | No data | 41.7 | commuting by public transport, unit-title share, cross-lease share |
Questions
What schools are in Sunnybrook?
No school site lies inside Sunnybrook's boundary. The nearest school is Westbrook School (1.0 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles include John Paul College, Rotorua Boys' High School and Rotorua Girls' High School; check the school's own zone map for any address.