Living in Brown Owl: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 651 live property titles in Brown Owl, Upper Hutt City are almost all freehold (87%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 81 (12.4%), above the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 81
- Share of live titles
- 12.4%
- Live titles in total
- 651
- Upper Hutt City share
- 11.7%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Upper Hutt City
- 7 of 12
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 266 of 644
Brown Owl at a glance
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Brown Owl is listed under Upper Hutt City.
- 651 live titles are recorded here, including 81 cross-lease titles (12.4%).
- 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 12.4% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Public-transport figures describe how recorded titles sit near mapped stops. They do not describe a service from a particular property.
- 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
- The core title, Census, rent, transport and coast measures used by this page are available.
Title mix in Brown Owl
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 566 | 86.9% |
| Cross lease | 81 | 12.4% |
| Unit title | 0 | 0.0% |
| Leasehold | 4 | 0.6% |
| Other record types | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 651 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Brown Owl compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Brown Owl is higher than the national share (8.7%).
Across Upper Hutt City as a whole, the share is 11.7%; Brown Owl is close to the overall Upper Hutt City share (11.7%).
How cross-leases in Brown Owl are set up
Carports appear in more leases (34% of schemes, against 13% nationally).
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (17%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
The schemes are older than the national median: half have their earliest current title from 1976 or before (New Zealand: 1988).
| Scheme structure | Brown Owl | Upper Hutt City | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 41 | 921 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 100.0% | 73.2% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 0.0% | 14.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 0.0% | 11.9% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 655 m² | 804 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 328 m² | 328 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 26.8% | 16.8% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 34.1% | 19.5% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 4.9% | 3.1% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 17.1% | 18.0% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1976 | 1983 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 17 | 367 | 54,978 |
New titles in Brown Owl since 2020
43 of Brown Owl's current titles (7%) were first issued since 2020, well below Upper Hutt City's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (11%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
Most came recently: 33 since 2023.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 40 | 32 |
| Unit title | 0 | 0 |
| Cross-lease | 3 | 1 |
| 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 Brown Owl
The typical building in Brown Owl stands on ground sloping 1.6° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated).
Little of the sloping land faces north: 7%, 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 Brown Owl
Brown Owl is inland: the typical title is 15 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 Brown Owl: 2023 Census
About 68% of Brown Owl's titles are in the census area Birchville-Brown Owl (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Brown Owl exactly.
Fewer workers walk or cycle to work in Birchville-Brown Owl than across Upper Hutt City: 0.7% against 3.6%.
Fewer households have no car in Birchville-Brown Owl than across Upper Hutt City: 2.4% against 6.4%.
Fewer workers commute by bus, train or ferry in Birchville-Brown Owl than across Upper Hutt City: 9.9% against 12.6%.
| Measure | Birchville-Brown Owl | Maoribank | Upper Hutt City whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 3,762 | 3,450 | 45,759 |
| Change since 2018 | +6.9% | +4.0% | +4.0% |
| Change since 2013 | +13.1% | +21.4% | +13.9% |
| Median age | 38.4 | 35.4 | 39.1 |
| Households | 1,374 | 1,188 | 16,806 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 83.8% | 73.5% | 74.6% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 16.2% | 26.3% | 25.4% |
| Median household income | $116,200 | $118,500 | $110,300 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $500 | $430 | $475 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 4.1% | 3.9% | 5.2% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 20.0% | 21.7% | 19.3% |
| 15 to 29 | 17.8% | 18.3% | 16.9% |
| 30 to 64 | 48.6% | 49.5% | 47.9% |
| 65 and over | 13.7% | 10.5% | 16.0% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 19.6% | 20.3% | 23.4% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 11.6% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 38.9% | 39.9% | 40.7% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.5% | 2.6% | 3.0% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 12.6% | 15.6% | 15.8% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 20.5% | 20.4% | 24.5% |
| Employed full-time | 59.0% | 59.7% | 55.5% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.2% | 3.3% | 2.5% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 42.4% | 44.5% | 46.6% |
| Median personal income | $52,000 | $50,800 | $48,600 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 15.3% | 15.3% | 18.1% |
| Car, truck or van | 73.5% | 70.4% | 64.9% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 9.9% | 11.6% | 12.6% |
| Walk or cycle | 0.7% | 1.6% | 3.6% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 19.7% | 15.7% | 22.7% |
| Average people per household | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 2.4% | 3.6% | 6.4% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 5.0% | 6.5% | 4.3% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 45.3% | 42.0% | 43.9% |
| Couples without children | 40.3% | 38.2% | 38.9% |
| One-parent families | 14.7% | 19.7% | 17.2% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 83.9% | 88.9% | 78.2% |
| Average bedrooms | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 62.2% | 71.5% | 68.6% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 17.4% | 20.8% | 16.7% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 11.4% | 14.1% | 11.7% |
Rents around Brown Owl
New tenancies in Birchville-Brown Owl in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $600 a week (up 3.8% on a year earlier). That is close to the typical suburb in Upper Hutt City ($600), and close to the national median ($600).
| April–June 2026 | Birchville-Brown Owl | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $600 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $550–$650 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | +3.8% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 15 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Brown Owl
No school site lies inside Brown Owl's boundary; the nearest is Te Kura o Hau Karetu, 1.0 km away in a straight line.
- Nearest school: Te Kura o Hau Karetu (1.0 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Heretaunga College (4.5 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Hutt Hospital (18.1 km)
School enrolment zones in Brown Owl: a guide
Three secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Brown Owl's titles: Heretaunga College, Hutt International Boys School and St Oran's College.
- Birchville School (primary, Years 1–6): about 70% of titles
- Heretaunga College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Hutt International Boys School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- St Oran's 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
Public transport in Brown Owl
96% of Brown Owl's titles are within 400 m of a stop with a scheduled weekday service, slightly above Upper Hutt City as a whole (82%).
26% are that close to a frequent stop (60 or more departures that day), above the council (18%).
The typical title is 171 m in a straight line from its nearest stop.
Timetable of Wednesday 30 September 2026, Metlink (Greater Wellington Regional Council). Sources and limits
Places of worship near Brown Owl
OpenStreetMap maps 3 places of worship inside Brown Owl (3 Christian).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: unnamed, under 1 km away
- Buddhist: Vietnamese Buddhist Thien Thai Monastery, under 1 km away
- Muslim: Upper Hutt Islamic Centre, 5.6 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Upper Hutt City with many cross-leases
- Trentham: 655 cross-lease titles (17.9%)
- Wallaceville: 282 cross-lease titles (14.8%)
- Ebdentown: 281 cross-lease titles (24.0%)
- Silverstream: 190 cross-lease titles (10.8%)
- Birchville: 166 cross-lease titles (16.8%)
- Clouston Park: 152 cross-lease titles (14.3%)
- Tōtara Park: 132 cross-lease titles (11.2%)
- Elderslea: 124 cross-lease titles (10.5%)
All suburbs in Upper Hutt City
Suburbs like Brown Owl
The closest match on the measures on this site is Birchville in Upper Hutt City, nearest on unit-title share, rent, median age. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birchville | Upper Hutt City | 16.8% | $600 | 38.4 | unit-title share, rent, median age |
| Tōtara Park, Upper Hutt City | Upper Hutt City | 11.2% | No data | 36.7 | unit-title share, older residents, near a stop |
| Maoribank | Upper Hutt City | 14.0% | No data | 35.4 | working from home, slope, degrees |
| Heretaunga | Upper Hutt City | 10.1% | $650 | 41.7 | new titles, household income, near a frequent stop |
| Elderslea | Upper Hutt City | 10.5% | $650 | 41 | unit-title share, working from home, near a stop |
Questions
What is the rent in Brown Owl?
New tenancies in Birchville-Brown Owl (the rent area for part of Brown Owl) had a median rent of $600 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 $550 to $650.
What schools are in Brown Owl?
No school site lies inside Brown Owl's boundary. The nearest school is Te Kura o Hau Karetu (1.0 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles are Heretaunga College, Hutt International Boys School and St Oran's College; check the school's own zone map for any address.