Living in Motueka: schools, census and property titles
The 4,235 live property titles in Motueka, Tasman District are almost all freehold (86%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 127 (3.0%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 127
- Share of live titles
- 3.0%
- Live titles in total
- 4,235
- Tasman District share
- 0.8%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Tasman District
- 1 of 1
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 584 of 644
Motueka at a glance
Where Motueka differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: median age (higher than 95% of NZ suburbs); cross-lease share of titles (lower than 91% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Motueka is listed under Tasman District.
- 4,235 live titles are recorded here, including 127 cross-lease titles (3.0%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 3.0% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 1.9% 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 Motueka
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 3,648 | 86.1% |
| Cross lease | 127 | 3.0% |
| Unit title | 82 | 1.9% |
| Leasehold | 376 | 8.9% |
| Other record types | 2 | 0.0% |
| Total | 4,235 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Motueka compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Motueka is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Tasman District as a whole, the share is 0.8%; Motueka is about 3.8 times the overall Tasman District share (0.8%).
How cross-leases in Motueka are set up
Fewer leases include a garage (2% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
Fewer schemes have four or more flats on one section (2%, against 11% nationally).
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (18%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
| Scheme structure | Motueka | Tasman District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 62 | 95 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 83.9% | 85.3% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 14.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 1.6% | 3.2% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 852 m² | 898 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 406 m² | 418 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 1.6% | 6.3% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 0.0% | 2.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 4.8% | 9.5% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 17.7% | 14.7% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1990 | 1990 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 46 | 75 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Motueka
376 titles (8.9%) are leasehold, well above the national share (1.2%).
42 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 | 39 |
| Under 10 years left | 3 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 5 |
| More than 50 years left | 140 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 187 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 2 |
New titles in Motueka since 2020
199 of Motueka's current titles (5%) were first issued since 2020, well below Tasman District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (13%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 138 | 58 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 1 | 1 |
| Leasehold | 60 | 41 |
| 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 Motueka
The typical building in Motueka stands on ground sloping 0.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Nearly all of its 5,758 measured buildings (98%) stand on ground under 5°.
Much of the land is low-lying: the median elevation is 8 m, and parts are below sea level.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Motueka
10% of Motueka's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 20% within 500 m and 42% within 1 km. The typical title is 1.2 km 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 Motueka: 2023 Census
Motueka's titles fall in 6 census areas (Stats NZ statistical areas). The 3 shown below hold 93% of its titles; their figures are shown side by side and are not added together.
More residents are 65 or over in Motueka East than across Tasman District: 35.9% against 23.3%.
Fewer workers work from home in Motueka East than across Tasman District: 14.4% against 20.8%.
More workers walk or cycle to work in Motueka East than across Tasman District: 11.6% against 8.1%.
| Measure | Motueka East 38% of titles | Motueka North 28% of titles | Motueka West 27% of titles | Tasman District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 3,078 | 2,490 | 2,625 | 57,807 |
| Change since 2018 | +2.4% | +0.7% | +4.0% | +10.3% |
| Change since 2013 | +10.6% | +14.5% | +22.0% | +22.6% |
| Median age | 52.7 | 48.1 | 41.8 | 46.8 |
| Households | 1,305 | 1,014 | 894 | 21,864 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 76.6% | 72.2% | 68.1% | 77.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 23.7% | 27.8% | 32.6% | 22.6% |
| Median household income | $57,900 | $58,300 | $69,200 | $80,400 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $390 | $380 | $400 | $400 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 8.2% | 6.5% | 8.0% | 12.9% |
| Ages | ||||
| Under 15 | 13.7% | 14.1% | 16.2% | 16.4% |
| 15 to 29 | 12.1% | 15.2% | 18.3% | 14.7% |
| 30 to 64 | 38.3% | 41.4% | 45.1% | 45.5% |
| 65 and over | 35.9% | 29.4% | 20.2% | 23.3% |
| Where people came from | ||||
| Born overseas | 23.1% | 22.3% | 22.0% | 21.3% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 24.7% | 27.8% | 37.5% | 21.5% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 42.2% | 40.2% | 49.4% | 44.3% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 3.8% | 4.0% | 6.0% | 4.0% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 14.9% | 17.0% | 19.9% | 16.9% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 16.5% | 14.3% | 13.1% | 21.2% |
| Employed full-time | 37.3% | 41.7% | 48.6% | 46.7% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2.5% | 1.8% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 35.4% | 32.7% | 30.2% | 41.8% |
| Median personal income | $30,500 | $31,000 | $32,300 | $35,900 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||||
| Work from home | 14.4% | 12.1% | 12.2% | 20.8% |
| Car, truck or van | 72.6% | 75.0% | 75.7% | 69.3% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| Walk or cycle | 11.6% | 11.6% | 10.7% | 8.1% |
| Households and families | ||||
| One-person households | 29.4% | 32.2% | 26.6% | 23.4% |
| Average people per household | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 5.2% | 6.9% | 5.3% | 3.3% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 2.7% | 3.7% | 5.7% | 3.4% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 30.7% | 34.0% | 36.5% | 37.0% |
| Couples without children | 56.5% | 50.2% | 41.5% | 50.9% |
| One-parent families | 12.7% | 15.8% | 22.0% | 12.1% |
| Homes | ||||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 84.6% | 79.5% | 86.1% | 86.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 3 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 77.2% | 72.2% | 60.6% | 58.6% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 10.3% | 13.7% | 18.3% | 11.1% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 7.5% | 11.3% | 12.6% | 7.7% |
Schools and hospitals near Motueka
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Motueka, among them Motueka High School (Secondary (Year 9-15)) and Motueka South School (Full Primary).
- Motueka High School (Secondary (Year 9-15))
- Motueka South School (Full Primary)
- Parklands School (Motueka) (Full Primary)
- St Peter Chanel School (Motueka) (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Motueka South School (1.4 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Motueka High School (1.5 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Nelson Hospital (29.7 km)
School enrolment zones in Motueka: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Motueka's titles: Motueka High School.
- Parklands School (Motueka) (primary, Years 1–8): about 65% of titles
- Motueka South School (primary, Years 1–8): about 35% of titles
- Motueka 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 Motueka
OpenStreetMap maps 11 places of worship inside Motueka (10 Christian, 1 other or not recorded).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: unnamed, under 1 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Suburbs like Motueka
The closest match on the measures on this site is Katikati in Western Bay of Plenty District, nearest on elevation, distance to the coast, working from home. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katikati | Western Bay of Plenty District | 5.1% | No data | 46 | elevation, distance to the coast, working from home |
| Paeroa | Hauraki District | 2.7% | $500 | 51.5 | stand-alone houses, unit-title share, cross-lease share |
| Te Aroha | Matamata-Piako District | 3.1% | $560 | 49.2 | household income, population change, commuting by public transport |
| Foxton Beach | Horowhenua District | 2.3% | $500 | 57.2 | household income, distance to the coast, elevation |
| Geraldine | Timaru District | 5.3% | $470 | 53.2 | commuting by public transport, heat pumps, household income |
Questions
What schools are in Motueka?
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Motueka, including Motueka High School, Motueka South School and Parklands School (Motueka). The nearest secondary school to its centre is Motueka High School (1.5 km in a straight line). The secondary-school home zone covering most of its titles is Motueka High School; check the school's own zone map for any address.