Living in Kilbirnie: rents, schools, census and property titles
The 1,635 live property titles in Kilbirnie, Wellington City are mostly freehold (63%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 56 (3.4%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 56
- Share of live titles
- 3.4%
- Live titles in total
- 1,635
- Wellington City share
- 5.6%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Wellington City
- joint 27 of 32
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 562 of 644
Kilbirnie at a glance
Where Kilbirnie differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: homes with a heat pump (lower than 93% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Kilbirnie is listed under Wellington City.
- 1,635 live titles are recorded here, including 56 cross-lease titles (3.4%).
- 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 3.4% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 30.0% of recorded titles, so title structure can vary within the suburb.
- 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 Kilbirnie
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1,023 | 62.6% |
| Cross lease | 56 | 3.4% |
| Unit title | 490 | 30.0% |
| Leasehold | 15 | 0.9% |
| Other record types | 51 | 3.1% |
| Total | 1,635 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Kilbirnie compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Kilbirnie is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Wellington City as a whole, the share is 5.6%; Kilbirnie is well below the overall Wellington City share (5.6%).
Its cross-lease share is in the lowest quarter of 32 in Wellington City (among suburbs with an indexed page on this site).
How cross-leases in Kilbirnie are set up
Fewer schemes refer to more than one flats plan (6%, against 36% nationally), usually because a plan was redrawn.
More schemes have four or more flats on one section (33%, against 11% nationally), up to 7.
Fewer leases include a garage (11% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Kilbirnie | Wellington City | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 18 | 2,130 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 61.1% | 82.4% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 5.6% | 6.7% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 33.3% | 10.4% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 650 m² | 759 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 239 m² | 350 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 11.1% | 18.0% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 0.0% | 8.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 5.6% | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 5.6% | 22.5% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1984 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 2 | 991 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Kilbirnie
Unit titles are 30% of Kilbirnie's titles, above Wellington City (25%) and well above New Zealand (8%). They belong to 32 developments, each run by a body corporate; 1 has 50 or more units.
The unit-title share is in the highest quarter of 32 in Wellington City.
15 titles (0.9%) 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 | 12 |
| Term mentions renewal (including perpetually renewable) | 2 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 1 |
New titles in Kilbirnie since 2020
122 of Kilbirnie's current titles (7%) were first issued since 2020, slightly below Wellington City's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (8%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
Most are unit titles: 89 in 3 developments (apartments, terraces or townhouses under a body corporate).
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 30 | 18 |
| Unit title | 89 | 60 |
| Cross-lease | 0 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 2 | 2 |
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 Kilbirnie
The typical building in Kilbirnie stands on ground sloping 1.7° (read on an 8 m grid, so short steep banks may be understated), joint 2nd flattest of 32 in Wellington City.
About 15% of its 1,470 measured buildings stand on ground of 15° or more.
Much of the land is low-lying: the median elevation is 3 m, and parts are below sea level.
Slope is not a measure of ground stability. Sources and limits
Distance to the coast from Kilbirnie
1% of Kilbirnie's titles are within 200 m of the sea or harbour edge, 33% within 500 m and 98% within 1 km. The typical title is 600 m 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 Kilbirnie: 2023 Census
About 75% of Kilbirnie's titles are in the census area Kilbirnie Central (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Kilbirnie exactly.
More households have no car in Kilbirnie Central than across Wellington City: 27.8% against 15.2%.
More residents are 65 or over in Kilbirnie Central than across Wellington City: 19.1% against 11.7%.
More people live alone in Kilbirnie Central than across Wellington City: 38.3% against 24.1%.
| Measure | Kilbirnie Central | Kilbirnie East | Wellington City whole council |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,613 | 2,088 | 202,689 |
| Change since 2018 | −2.8% | −3.1% | −0.0% |
| Change since 2013 | −0.3% | −4.3% | +6.1% |
| Median age | 37.5 | 37.3 | 34.9 |
| Households | 1,134 | 780 | 77,004 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 51.7% | 52.3% | 58.6% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 48.3% | 48.1% | 41.4% |
| Median household income | $87,900 | $100,500 | $134,500 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $500 | $480 | $560 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7.8% |
| Ages | |||
| Under 15 | 10.6% | 14.9% | 14.4% |
| 15 to 29 | 26.8% | 22.1% | 27.2% |
| 30 to 64 | 43.6% | 50.1% | 46.8% |
| 65 and over | 19.1% | 12.6% | 11.7% |
| Where people came from | |||
| Born overseas | 34.1% | 35.0% | 34.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 18.9% | 17.1% | 23.2% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 52.5% | 39.6% | 44.2% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 4.4% | 3.7% | 5.4% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 26.2% | 19.5% | 24.0% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | |||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 42.7% | 33.8% | 48.6% |
| Employed full-time | 52.6% | 55.4% | 59.0% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 3.0% | 3.5% | 3.0% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 52.9% | 48.8% | 59.5% |
| Median personal income | $43,800 | $43,900 | $55,500 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | |||
| Work from home | 15.2% | 15.1% | 18.7% |
| Car, truck or van | 38.8% | 46.5% | 39.0% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 29.3% | 22.8% | 20.0% |
| Walk or cycle | 14.5% | 13.3% | 19.8% |
| Households and families | |||
| One-person households | 38.3% | 29.7% | 24.1% |
| Average people per household | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 27.8% | 17.7% | 15.2% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 5.6% | 11.4% | 5.0% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 36.3% | 50.3% | 43.0% |
| Couples without children | 48.0% | 31.7% | 44.8% |
| One-parent families | 15.6% | 18.0% | 12.2% |
| Homes | |||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 40.2% | 65.9% | 59.7% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 51.6% | 55.8% | 53.6% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 22.6% | 20.5% | 22.9% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 15.1% | 16.3% | 16.1% |
Rents around Kilbirnie
New tenancies in Kilbirnie Central in the April–June 2026 quarter had a median rent of $540 a week (down 9.2% on a year earlier). That is slightly below the typical suburb in Wellington City ($625), and slightly below the national median ($600); in the lowest quarter of 27 in Wellington City.
| April–June 2026 | Kilbirnie Central | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Median weekly rent, new tenancies | $540 | $600 |
| Middle half of rents | $195–$650 | $490–$700 |
| Change in median on a year earlier | −9.2% | +0.2% |
| Bonds lodged in the quarter | 24 | 40,827 |
Schools and hospitals near Kilbirnie
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Kilbirnie, among them Evans Bay Intermediate (Intermediate) and St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) (Secondary (Year 9-15)).
- Evans Bay Intermediate (Intermediate)
- St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) (Secondary (Year 9-15))
- St Patrick's College (Kilbirnie) (Secondary (Year 9-15))
- St Patrick's School (Kilbirnie) (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: St Patrick's School (Kilbirnie) (0.2 km)
- Nearest secondary school: St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) (0.3 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Wellington Hospital (1.7 km)
School enrolment zones in Kilbirnie: a guide
Four secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Kilbirnie's titles, among them Hutt International Boys School, St Oran's College and Wellington East Girls' College.
- Lyall Bay School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Kilbirnie School (primary, Years 1–6): about 40% of titles
- Evans Bay Intermediate (intermediate, Years 7–8): 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
- Wellington East Girls' College (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Wellington High School & Com Ed Centre (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 Kilbirnie
100% of Kilbirnie's titles are within 400 m of a stop with a scheduled weekday service, close to Wellington City as a whole (96%).
99% are that close to a frequent stop (60 or more departures that day), above the council (69%); in the highest quarter of 32 in Wellington City.
The typical title is 121 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 Kilbirnie
OpenStreetMap maps 4 places of worship inside Kilbirnie (3 Christian, 1 Muslim).
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: St Patrick's Catholic Church, under 1 km away
- Hindu: ISKCON Wellington Newlands Temple, 10.0 km away
- Buddhist: Wellington Buddhist Centre, 2.0 km away
- Muslim: Wellington Islamic Centre, under 1 km away
- Jewish: Wellington Progressive Jewish Congregation, 3.6 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Wellington City with many cross-leases
- Johnsonville: 616 cross-lease titles (13.1%)
- Karori: 469 cross-lease titles (7.9%)
- Tawa: 380 cross-lease titles (6.8%)
- Miramar: 335 cross-lease titles (8.8%)
- Newlands: 328 cross-lease titles (10.5%)
- Churton Park: 271 cross-lease titles (9.2%)
- Khandallah: 230 cross-lease titles (6.6%)
- Woodridge: 186 cross-lease titles (25.4%)
All suburbs in Wellington City
Suburbs like Kilbirnie
The closest match on the measures on this site is Petone in Lower Hutt City, nearest on schools, distance to the coast, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petone | Lower Hutt City | 6.3% | $575 | 42.3 | schools, distance to the coast, elevation |
| Hutt Central | Lower Hutt City | 15.1% | $500 | 36.2 | commuting on foot or by bike, schools, distance to a hospital |
| Lyall Bay | Wellington City | 11.7% | $680 | 36.6 | population change, slope, near a frequent stop |
| Newtown | Wellington City | 3.4% | $578 | 29.1 | cross-lease share, new titles, distance to the coast |
| Alicetown | Lower Hutt City | 10.3% | $530 | 36.9 | elevation, population change, distance to the coast |
Questions
What is the rent in Kilbirnie?
New tenancies in Kilbirnie Central (the rent area for part of Kilbirnie) had a median rent of $540 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 $195 to $650.
What schools are in Kilbirnie?
LINZ maps 4 school sites inside Kilbirnie, including Evans Bay Intermediate, St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) and St Patrick's College (Kilbirnie). The nearest secondary school to its centre is St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) (0.3 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles include Hutt International Boys School, St Oran's College and Wellington East Girls' College; check the school's own zone map for any address.