TopSpots: New Zealand's Most Affluent Places
How do you start to measure places of affluence?
We are not searching for the domains of the super-rich or the hideaways of celebrities; what we want to discover is which of New Zealand's towns and cities could be best described as being the most "sought after" and their residents' the most "comfortable".
Whether we like it or not, the most fundamental bellwether of a place's desirability is its house prices. If a lot of people want to live somewhere house prices rise as a result of that demand. People may want to live somewhere for a variety of reasons; natural beauty, good schools, shopping, employment, quality of life, etc. Whatever their reasons, we thought analysing house prices was a good place to start.
We looked at the average sale prices of residential homes in over 70 territorial authorities from all over New Zealand. We then took the top 20 highest priced places and dug beneath the surface to see how they stacked up in the affluence stakes.
We didn't just consider house prices; we also examined:
- Households earning more than $100,000 a year.
- Homes least likely to be in deprived areas.
- Percentage of residents who have a degree.
- Lowest unemployment rates.
- Residents who are Chief Executives, General Managers or Legislators.
Points were awarded based on performance across each of these criteria, then added up to create a league table of New Zealand's Most Affluent Places.
So, which places made the top 20 and, most importantly, which place came out on top?
Well, it may surprise many to learn that the number one spot does not go to any of our major cities, but it's a place where it appears more and more of our most successful city folks are choosing to call home.
The winner is Queenstown Lakes District.
Queenstown Lakes District - How did it score?
It was a close run thing between Queenstown Lakes and North Shore City for the accolade of New Zealand's Most Affluent Place, but the southern resort town just scraped home.
Queenstown Lakes is undoubtedly a highly desirable place to live. Consider some numbers; according to the last census it's population of 23,000 grew by 35% between 2001 and 2006, that's more than anywhere else in the country and over four times the national average.
Let's look at house prices. The average home in Queenstown Lakes cost over $570,000. Only North Shore City has a higher price at $573,000. In fact Queenstown Lake's house prices are more than 50% higher than the South Island's next highest priced area, Selwyn District.
Queenstown Lakes scored well against all of the set criteria, especially in terms of jobs; its unemployment rate of 1.7% was lower than any of the other contenders.
All places have some degree of socioeconomic deprivation, it's measured in deciles with 1 being the least deprived and 10 being the most deprived. On average 30% of New Zealanders live in deciles 1 to 3. Not so in Queenstown where more than two-thirds of residents live in the top three deciles.
Back on the jobs front; Queenstowners are a well qualified bunch with 19% possessing a Bachelor's degree or higher, the fourth highest in the country. Queenstown also came fourth in terms of its percentage of population who are in the top occupation category of Chief Executive, General Managers and Legislators, only surpassed by Rodney District, Auckland and North Shore Cities.
Well done to Queenstown Lakes District; here's the league table showing how the others fared.
Top 20 Most Affluent Places in New Zealand
| 1 | Queenstown Lakes District |
| 2 | North Shore City |
| 3= | Wellington City |
| 3= | Auckland City |
| 5 | Rodney District |
| 6 | Selwyn District |
| 7 | Franklin District |
| 8 | Porirua City |
| 9 | Manuaku City |
| 10 | Tauranga City |
| 11 | Tasman District |
| 12 | Central Otago District |
| 13 | Waitakere City |
| 14 | Kapiti Coast District |
| 15 | Thames Coromandel District |
| 16 | South Wairarapa District |
| 17 | Lower Hutt City |
| 18 | Taupo District |
| 19 | Christchurch City |
| 20 | Nelson City |
Highlights from the others
North Shore City was unlucky not to come out first overall. It was in the top three for every measure, except for its unemployment rate which as 4.3% is lower than the national average of 5.1% but is only ninth best of the places surveyed.
Wellington City came out as the best qualified and highest paid place in New Zealand but surprisingly only ninth for the number of CEO's, GM's and legislators. More of them live in the nearby Kapiti Coast District.
Porirua and Manukau Cities scored higher than many expected; in fact they ranked fourth and fifth respectively for households earning more than $100,000 p.a. That's higher than Queenstown Lakes District.
Auckland City came second for high earners, graduates and senior managers, and third for house prices. It's unemployment rate of 5.7% and ordinary low deprivation decile scores meant it was never going to be in the very top tier.
Snapshots:
| House prices | ||
| Highest | North Shore City | $573,430 |
| Lowest | Tararua District | $145,742 |
| % of households earning over $100,000 per annum | ||
| Highest | Wellington City | 35.2% |
| Lowest | Buller District | 6.3% |
| % of households in deprivation deciles 1 to 3 | ||
| Best | Selwyn District | 69.9% |
| Worst | Wairoa District | 1.4% |
| % of people 15+ with a Bachelor's degree or higher | ||
| Highest | Wellington City | 35.3% |
| Lowest | Kawerau District | 3.7% |
| Unemployment rate | ||
| Best | Queenstown Lakes District | 1.7% |
| Worst | Kawerau District | 13.7% |
| % of population Chief Executives, General Managers & Legislators | ||
| Highest | Rodney District | 5.3% |
| Lowest | South Taranaki | 1.6% |
All About Queenstown Lakes District
Queenstown, in the south west of the South Island, has a population of less than 23,000 and covers an area of almost 9,000 square km. Although it's a comparatively small place, with a similar sized population to say, Masterton, it punches well above its weight when it comes to profile both domestically and internationally.
This is the adventure sports and leisure Mecca of New Zealand and it attracts eager tourists in their thousands to its ski fields, bungy jumps, jet boats and dramatically beautiful environment each year. This tourism has fuelled the growth of its economy and resident number; between 1996 and 2006 its population increased by more than 60%.
Adventure tourism isn't the only game in town; the area has a rapidly developing wine producing industry that is highly regarded throughout the world, especially for its deep, dark pinot noirs. These wineries are generating export dollars and attracting a new band of tourists that are contributing to the success of the local economy.
Queenstown's popularity and growth has attracted property developers who are involved in a variety of ambitious schemes to house the incoming numbers of both tourists and workers alike. The suitability of these developments is often the subject of heated debate, as residents and local government wrestle with the balance of economic needs and environmental suitability.
Queenstown is likely to consolidate its position as New Zealand's most affluent place in the coming years. The development of its airport and frequent, scheduled domestic and international flights to Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney, will make Queenstown an even more attractive option for wealthy business people who want to live in the pristine environment of the Southern Alps but be within easy reach of their head offices when required. These well-heeled new residents will continue to push property prices to levels rivalling - and often exceeding - those of Auckland and Sydney.
| People | Queenstown | New Zealand |
| Population | 22,956 | 4,027,947 |
| Population density | 2.6 | 14.9 |
| Population change | 34.7% | 7.8% |
| Median age | 34 | 35 |
| Households | 8,556 | 1,454,175 |
| Household size | 2.51 | 2.68 |
| Male population | 51.2% | 48.8% |
| Female population | 48.2% | 51.2% |
| Married population | 46.4% | 43.5% |
| Single population | 53.6% |
51.4% |
| Estimated Total Population By Age | Queenstown | New Zealand |
| Age 0 to 4 | 6.1% | 6.9% |
| Age 5 to 9 | 5.1% | 6.9% |
| Age 10 to 14 | 5.0% | 7.2% |
| Age 15 to 19 | 4.6% | 7.6% |
| Age 20 to 24 | 8.1% | 6.9% |
| Age 25 to 29 | 11.2% | 6.3% |
| Age 30 to 34 | 10.6% | 6.6% |
| Age 35 to 39 | 9.6% | 7.4% |
| Age 40 to 44 | 8.0% | 7.5% |
| Age 45 to 49 | 7.4% | 7.4% |
| Age 50 to 54 | 6.0% | 6.4% |
| Age 55 to 59 | 5.6% | 5.7% |
| Age 60 to 64 | 4.2% | 4.7% |
| Age 65 to 69 | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| Age 70 to 74 | 2.0% | 2.9% |
| Age 75 to 79 | 1.7% | 2.5% |
| Age 80 to 84 | 0.9% | 1.8% |
| Age 85+ | 0.8% | 1.4% |
| Family | Queenstown | New Zealand |
| Percentage of couples with children | 36.9% | 42.0% |
| Percentage of couples without children | 55.2% | 39.9% |
| Single, with children | 7.9% | 18.1% |
| Divorced | 6.6% | 7.6% |
| Separated | 2.6% | 3.7% |
| Widowed | 3.3% | 6.0% |
| Now married | 46.4% | 43.5% |
| Never married | 41.2% | 34.1% |
|
Housing |
Queenstown | New Zealand |
 |
||
| Median home cost | $570,533 | $391,487 |
| Home appreciation | ||
| (1 year) | -3.4% | -4.5% |
| (5 years) | +58.3% | 80.5% |
| Homes owned | 55.6% | 62.7% |
| Homes rented | 37.3% | 31.1% |
All about Queenstown Lakes District: Useful Links:
Homes for Sale in Queenstown Lakes District
Queenstown Lakes District Council
Sources:
- Statistics New Zealand
- Census data 2001and 2006
- Estimated Subnational Population by age 2007 - QV data August 2008
Our thanks to the various parties who helped and contributed to the data within the report, including:
Statistics New Zealand, QV.co.nz, University of Auckland School of Statistics, Auckland City Libraries.
Stephen Hart is the author of the best-selling homebuyer's books, 'Where to live in Auckland' and the 'The Streetwise Homebuyer' and co-presenter of TV2's 'House Call' programme. He also writes a regular homebuyers' column for 'Herald Homes'.
For more about TopSpot reports, click here
Click here, to read the September 2008 ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard which takes the latest quarterly regional statistics and ranks the economic performance of New Zealand's 16 Regional Council areas. Ratings are based on specific measures such as employment, construction, retail trade and house prices.
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The content is considered accurate at the time of the publication, however Barbican Publishing nor ASB cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.
Copyright: Barbican Publishing Ltd 2008
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