Feature article

What’s it like to live in Ponsonby?

Looking at homes for sale in Ponsonby?

Last updated: 27 February 2025

Your home isn’t just a building. The area surrounding it plays a huge part in your day-to-day life, and that of your family – so you need to find the perfect fit.

Property viewings help you get a feel for individual homes, but how can you learn about a suburb as a whole? Well, as well as walking its streets, this is a question of good old fashioned research.

To help you decide which is the best suburb in Auckland to buy in, we’ll be exploring some of the city’s commonly searched areas, so you can make up your mind on what’s right for you.

This time, we’re exploring the vibrant, trendy streets of Ponsonby.

Ponsonby’s property landscape

Ponsonby’s house prices

As of January 2025, the average asking price* for property in Ponsonby looked like this:

3-4 bedroom houses: $2,375,800
- Prices have decreased by 5% year on year.

Classic Ponsonby villas.

Life in Ponsonby

Located roughly 2 km from the CBD, Ponsonby is a hive of activity, characterised by restored villas, chic bars, live music and art. The suburb centres around Ponsonby Road, a nearly 2 km strip lined with cafes, eateries and boutique shops.

Here are a few of Ponsonby’s highlights:

Ponsonby Central: Ponsonby Central is a commercial and retail hub, selling local organic produce as well as hosting a number of bars and restaurants. Whatever time of day, you’ll find something delicious to try.
Dorothy Butler Children's Bookshop: a true Auckland institution. Originally run from Dorothy Butler’s living room in 1964, the famous author moved her shop to Ponsonby in the 1980s. While this is one of the only specialist children's bookshops in Auckland, Ponsonby is generally a great place for bookworms.
Go vintage shopping: from furniture to fashion, there’s no shortage of vintage shopping available in Ponsonby. Treasure seekers can while away many a weekend sifting through the piles to find that hidden gem.

Transport

Its proximity to the CBD makes Ponsonby very convenient for commuters. Driving distance is about 10 minutes, while walking to downtown Queen Street will take about half an hour.

The suburb is well serviced by bus routes into the city centre, and to surrounding suburbs, From Ponsonby, it’s also easy to hop onto the motorway across to the North Shore.

Schools in Ponsonby

For families, there are plenty of schools in and around Ponsonby, these include:

Ponsonby Primary School – Curran Street.
Richmond Road School – Richmond Road.
Ponsonby Intermediate School – Clarence Street.
St. Mary’s College – New Street (girls only).
Auckland Girls’ Grammar School - Howe Street, Freemans Bay (girls only).

To find more specific detail on an individual property in Ponsonby, check out the Trade Me Property listing. You can also use our homes.co.nz property insights tool to access records, rateable values (RVs), estimates, sales, and trends.

*Learn more about the property price data.