Living in Richmond Heights: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 1,085 live property titles in Richmond Heights, Taupo District are almost all freehold (92%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 75 (6.9%), below the national share of 8.7%.
Richmond Heights cross-lease titles
- Cross-lease titles
- 75
- Share of live titles
- 6.9%
- Live titles in total
- 1,085
- Taupo District share
- 11.8%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Taupo District
- 8 of 11
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- 412 of 644
Richmond Heights at a glance
Where Richmond Heights differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: typical distance to the coast (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
- Richmond Heights is listed under Taupo District.
- 1,085 live titles are recorded here, including 75 cross-lease titles (6.9%).
- 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 6.9% 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 Richmond Heights
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,003 | 92.4% |
| Cross lease | 75 | 6.9% |
| Unit title | 0 | 0.0% |
| Leasehold | 7 | 0.6% |
| Other record types | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 1,085 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Richmond Heights compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Richmond Heights is lower than the national share (8.7%).
Across Taupo District as a whole, the share is 11.8%; Richmond Heights is well below the overall Taupo District share (11.8%).
How cross-leases in Richmond Heights are set up
Carports appear in fewer leases (3% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
Three-flat schemes are less common here (3%, against 12% nationally).
Separate exclusive-use areas are more common (18% of schemes, against 5% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Richmond Heights | Taupo District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 39 | 1,564 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 97.4% | 87.9% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 2.6% | 7.0% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 0.0% | 4.7% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 884 m² | 1,012 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 442 m² | 506 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 33.3% | 24.6% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 2.6% | 5.9% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 17.9% | 9.8% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 43.6% | 56.0% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1989 | 1991 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 35 | 1,346 | 54,978 |
New titles in Richmond Heights since 2020
130 of Richmond Heights's current titles (12%) were first issued since 2020, close to Taupo District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (12%) and close to New Zealand (12%).
Most came recently: 123 since 2023.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 125 | 121 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 5 | 2 |
| 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 Richmond Heights
The typical building in Richmond Heights stands on ground sloping 2.6° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Richmond Heights
Richmond Heights is inland: the typical title is 98 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 Richmond Heights: 2023 Census
About 66% of Richmond Heights's titles are in the census area Richmond Heights (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Richmond Heights exactly.
Fewer households have no car in Richmond Heights than across Taupo District: 1.5% against 3.8%.
Fewer residents are 65 or over in Richmond Heights than across Taupo District: 16.6% against 20.6%.
Fewer workers work from home in Richmond Heights than across Taupo District: 15.9% against 19.2%.
| Measure | Richmond Heights | Waipahihi | Taupo District whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,403 | 2,292 | 40,296 |
| Change since 2018 | +3.2% | +5.5% | +8.3% |
| Change since 2013 | +14.1% | +21.9% | +22.5% |
| Median age | 37.7 | 47.2 | 42.3 |
| Households | 828 | 861 | 14,799 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 69.2% | 77.0% | 70.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 30.8% | 22.3% | 29.6% |
| Median household income | $98,800 | $98,400 | $86,700 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $450 | $480 | $385 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 28.4% | 23.2% | 30.6% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 20.7% | 17.9% | 18.7% |
| 15 to 29 | 17.2% | 11.8% | 15.9% |
| 30 to 64 | 45.3% | 43.3% | 44.8% |
| 65 and over | 16.6% | 27.1% | 20.6% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 16.1% | 21.5% | 18.0% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 21.3% | 18.0% | 20.3% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 46.7% | 44.1% | 48.7% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 4.1% | 4.4% | 3.7% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 17.0% | 17.6% | 18.8% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 18.0% | 23.3% | 17.9% |
| Employed full-time | 53.6% | 47.8% | 49.6% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 2.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 35.6% | 44.5% | 39.2% |
| Median personal income | $44,100 | $45,200 | $39,800 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 15.9% | 19.3% | 19.2% |
| Car, truck or van | 80.5% | 76.3% | 74.4% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| Walk or cycle | 3.4% | 2.5% | 4.5% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 22.1% | 23.0% | 25.1% |
| Average people per household | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 1.5% | 3.0% | 3.8% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 5.1% | 2.5% | 5.0% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 38.0% | 35.5% | 35.8% |
| Couples without children | 43.5% | 55.1% | 48.6% |
| One-parent families | 18.5% | 9.3% | 15.5% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 89.4% | 90.4% | 87.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 63.3% | 61.8% | 59.5% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 13.8% | 9.7% | 14.6% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 8.4% | 7.0% | 10.5% |
Rents around Richmond Heights
New tenancies in Richmond Heights in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $650 a week (down 3.7% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Taupo District ($650), and slightly above the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Richmond Heights | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $650 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $540–$725 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | −3.7% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 21 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Richmond Heights
No school site lies inside Richmond Heights's boundary; the nearest is Waipahihi School, 0.9 km away in a straight line.
- Nearest school: Waipahihi School (0.9 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Lake Taupo Christian School (2.2 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Taupo Hospital (2.0 km)
School enrolment zones in Richmond Heights: a guide
One secondary school has a home zone covering most of Richmond Heights's titles: Tauhara College.
- Waipahihi School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Taupo Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): all or nearly all titles
- Tauhara College (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 Richmond Heights
No place of worship is mapped in OpenStreetMap inside Richmond Heights's boundary.
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Faith Baptist Church, under 1 km away
- Muslim: Taupo Islamic Centre, 3.7 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Taupo District with many cross-leases
- Taupō: 1,504 cross-lease titles (27.7%)
- Nukuhau: 410 cross-lease titles (20.2%)
- Hilltop: 370 cross-lease titles (24.8%)
- Tauhara: 299 cross-lease titles (24.0%)
- Waipahihi: 153 cross-lease titles (17.4%)
- Tūrangi: 124 cross-lease titles (3.9%)
- Acacia Bay: 78 cross-lease titles (5.3%)
- Two Mile Bay: 73 cross-lease titles (17.2%)
Suburbs like Richmond Heights
The closest match on the measures on this site is Rainbow Point in Taupo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Point | Taupo District | 17.3% | $650 | 37.7 | rent, median age, children |
| Two Mile Bay | Taupo District | 17.2% | $650 | 37.7 | rent, median age, children |
| Waipahihi | Taupo District | 17.4% | $660 | 47.2 | schools, household income, distance to the coast |
| Hilltop | Taupo District | 24.8% | $650 | 46 | rent, commuting by public transport, new titles |
| Taupō | Taupo District | 27.7% | $650 | 45.5 | rent, commuting by public transport, distance to a hospital |
Questions
What is the rent in Richmond Heights?
New tenancies in the Richmond Heights rent area had a median rent of $650 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 $540 to $725.
What schools are in Richmond Heights?
No school site lies inside Richmond Heights's boundary. The nearest school is Waipahihi School (0.9 km in a straight line). The secondary-school home zone covering most of its titles is Tauhara College; check the school's own zone map for any address.