Living in Otangarei: schools, census and property titles
The 651 live property titles in Otangarei, Whangarei District are almost all freehold (80%), as recorded by LINZ on 30 September 2026. Cross-lease titles number 38 (5.8%), well below the national share of 8.7%.
- Cross-lease titles
- 38
- Share of live titles
- 5.8%
- Live titles in total
- 651
- Whangarei District share
- 7.3%
- New Zealand share
- 8.7%
- Rank by share in Whangarei District
- 12 of 16
- Rank by share in New Zealand
- joint 453 of 644
Otangarei at a glance
Where Otangarei differs most from suburbs across New Zealand: median age (lower than 97% of NZ suburbs); titles first issued since 2020 (lower than 90% of NZ suburbs).
Higher or lower is not better or worse. Sources and limits
Start here
What the data tells you
Recorded facts
- Otangarei is listed under Whangarei District.
- 651 live titles are recorded here, including 38 cross-lease titles (5.8%).
- The page includes 2023 Census context for the statistical area that represents this suburb.
Contextual observations
- Cross-lease titles make up 5.8% of the recorded title mix. That describes the suburb, not any particular home.
- Unit titles account for 12.0% 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 Otangarei
| Title type | Live titles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 521 | 80.0% |
| Cross lease | 38 | 5.8% |
| Unit title | 78 | 12.0% |
| Leasehold | 0 | 0.0% |
| Other record types | 14 | 2.2% |
| Total | 651 | 100% |
Counts are titles, not homes; the register can lag conversions, so check the certificate of title. Sources and limits
How Otangarei compares
Nationally, 8.7% of live titles are cross-lease; Otangarei is well below the national share (8.7%).
Across Whangarei District as a whole, the share is 7.3%; Otangarei is lower than the overall Whangarei District share (7.3%).
How cross-leases in Otangarei are set up
Fewer leases include a garage (13% of schemes, against 28% nationally).
More schemes have four or more flats on one section (20%, against 11% nationally).
Three-flat schemes are less common here (7%, against 12% nationally).
| Scheme structure | Otangarei | Whangarei District | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-lease schemes (shared sections) | 15 | 1,367 | 87,651 |
| Two-flat schemes | 73.3% | 65.3% | 76.2% |
| Three-flat schemes | 6.7% | 19.1% | 12.2% |
| Four or more flats | 20.0% | 15.7% | 11.4% |
| Typical section size (from the titles, not a survey) | 887 m² | 920 m² | 908 m² |
| Typical land per flat | 408 m² | 394 m² | 408 m² |
| Schemes with a garage written into a lease | 13.3% | 19.9% | 28.4% |
| Schemes with a carport in a lease | 20.0% | 12.1% | 13.3% |
| Schemes with a separate exclusive-use area | 0.0% | 1.8% | 4.5% |
| Schemes referring to more than one flats plan (usually redrawn; not by itself a problem) | 26.7% | 30.9% | 35.6% |
| Median year of earliest current title | 1985 | 1986 | 1988 |
| Two-flat schemes on 700 m² or more | 10 | 712 | 54,978 |
Unit titles and leasehold in Otangarei
Unit titles are 12% of Otangarei's titles, well above Whangarei District (3%) and well above New Zealand (8%). They belong to 6 developments, each run by a body corporate; half have 14 units or fewer.
The unit-title share is joint 2nd highest of 16 in Whangarei District.
New titles in Otangarei since 2020
18 of Otangarei's current titles (3%) were first issued since 2020, well below Whangarei District's suburbs with new-title figures taken together (10%) and well below New Zealand (12%).
That rate is in the lowest quarter of 16 in Whangarei District.
Most are unit titles: 16 in 1 development (apartments, terraces or townhouses under a body corporate).
Most came recently: 17 since 2023.
| Title type | Since 2020 | Since 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 1 | 0 |
| Unit title | 16 | 16 |
| Cross-lease | 0 | 0 |
| Leasehold | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 1 |
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 Otangarei
The typical building in Otangarei stands on ground sloping 2.1° (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 Otangarei
Otangarei is inland: the typical title is 4.3 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 Otangarei: 2023 Census
About 99% of Otangarei's titles are in the census area Otangarei (a Stats NZ statistical area), so these figures describe that area, not Otangarei exactly.
More households have no car in Otangarei than across Whangarei District: 18.6% against 5.2%.
Fewer adults hold a degree in Otangarei than across Whangarei District: 5.7% against 20.2%.
Fewer residents were born overseas in Otangarei than across Whangarei District: 6.0% against 18.6%.
| Measure | Otangarei | Whangarei District whole council |
|---|---|---|
| Usual residents | 2,211 | 96,678 |
| Change since 2018 | +4.8% | +6.3% |
| Change since 2013 | +35.2% | +25.6% |
| Median age | 28.8 | 41.6 |
| Households | 585 | 35,088 |
| Own or part-own their home (including family trusts) | 28.7% | 70.4% |
| Not owned and not in a family trust (mostly renting) | 71.8% | 29.6% |
| Median household income | $60,700 | $81,900 |
| Median weekly rent, renting households | $185 | $420 |
| Dwellings unoccupied on census night | 7.1% | 13.5% |
| Ages | ||
| Under 15 | 29.3% | 19.8% |
| 15 to 29 | 22.7% | 16.0% |
| 30 to 64 | 38.3% | 43.3% |
| 65 and over | 9.9% | 20.9% |
| Where people came from | ||
| Born overseas | 6.0% | 18.6% |
| Of those born overseas, arrived in the last 5 years | 14.6% | 18.9% |
| Lived elsewhere in New Zealand 5 years ago (of all residents, including children born since) | 46.9% | 45.7% |
| Lived overseas 5 years ago (of all residents) | 2.2% | 3.4% |
| Moved here in the last year (of all residents) | 19.5% | 17.7% |
| Work and study (people 15 and over) | ||
| Bachelor degree or higher | 5.7% | 20.2% |
| Employed full-time | 32.4% | 46.3% |
| Unemployed (share of everyone 15 and over, not the unemployment rate) | 10.2% | 2.9% |
| Managers and professionals (of those employed) | 32.3% | 42.9% |
| Median personal income | $26,900 | $36,500 |
| Getting to work (of those employed) | ||
| Work from home | 9.0% | 17.4% |
| Car, truck or van | 82.5% | 77.3% |
| Bus, train or ferry | 2.2% | 0.5% |
| Walk or cycle | 4.9% | 3.7% |
| Households and families | ||
| One-person households | 29.2% | 24.7% |
| Average people per household | 3.3 | 2.6 |
| Households with no motor vehicle | 18.6% | 5.2% |
| Crowded households (need one or more extra bedrooms) | 27.0% | 6.3% |
| Couples with children (of families) | 28.8% | 36.2% |
| Couples without children | 17.6% | 44.9% |
| One-parent families | 52.8% | 18.9% |
| Homes | ||
| Separate (stand-alone) houses | 75.9% | 83.5% |
| Average bedrooms | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Heated with a heat pump | 64.8% | 60.2% |
| Damp, always or sometimes | 52.8% | 23.1% |
| Mould over A4 size, always or sometimes | 42.1% | 19.4% |
Schools and hospitals near Otangarei
One school site lies inside Otangarei: Te Kura o Otangarei (Full Primary).
- Te Kura o Otangarei (Full Primary)
- Nearest school: Te Kura o Otangarei (0.3 km)
- Nearest secondary school: Te Kamo High School (1.5 km)
- Nearest public general hospital: Whangarei Hospital (5.0 km)
School enrolment zones in Otangarei: a guide
Two secondary schools have a home zone covering most of Otangarei's titles: Whangarei Boys' High School and Whangarei Girls' High School.
- Whau Valley School (primary, Years 1–6): all or nearly all titles
- Whangarei Boys' High School (secondary): all or nearly all titles
- Whangarei Girls' 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 Otangarei
No place of worship is mapped in OpenStreetMap inside Otangarei's boundary.
Nearest mapped place of each tradition within 10 km:
- Christian: Trinity Church / Whangarei Uniting Trinity, 1.0 km away
- Buddhist: unnamed, 4.5 km away
- Muslim: Whangarei Masjid (Northland Muslim Charitable Trust), 4.0 km away
Listed as facilities for access; not an indicator of who lives here. Sources and limits
Other suburbs in Whangarei District with many cross-leases
- Kensington: 640 cross-lease titles (30.6%)
- Te Kamo: 481 cross-lease titles (9.3%)
- Tikipunga: 329 cross-lease titles (12.1%)
- Raumanga: 308 cross-lease titles (16.6%)
- Avenues: 271 cross-lease titles (27.9%)
- Regent: 227 cross-lease titles (24.8%)
- Woodhill: 158 cross-lease titles (20.4%)
All suburbs in Whangarei District
Suburbs like Otangarei
The closest match on the measures on this site is Kaiti in Gisborne District, nearest on schools, population change, distance to a hospital. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiti | Gisborne District | 4.3% | $650 | 32.1 | schools, population change, distance to a hospital |
| Kawakawa | Far North District | 3.4% | No data | 34.2 | distance to the coast, population change, working from home |
| Raumanga | Whangarei District | 16.6% | $550 | 30.9 | older residents, recent movers within NZ, new titles |
| Maraenui, Napier City | Napier City | 3.4% | $580 | 28.7 | land per flat, median age, heat pumps |
| Red Hill | Auckland | 11.2% | $650 | 28.9 | schools, median age, population change |
Questions
What schools are in Otangarei?
LINZ maps 1 school site inside Otangarei: Te Kura o Otangarei. The nearest secondary school to its centre is Te Kamo High School (1.5 km in a straight line). Secondary-school home zones covering most of its titles are Whangarei Boys' High School and Whangarei Girls' High School; check the school's own zone map for any address.