What to look for in a neighbourhood when buying a house in NZ

We’re lucky enough to live in a country that, compared to many, is very safe. But that doesn’t mean it’s something you can forget about entirely.

There are a number of things you can do to investigate the safety and security of a suburb or neighbourhood before buying a property there:

• Take a tour around: we actually recommend doing at least two of these. One during the day, and one later in the evening. This is handy for a number of other reasons we’ll talk about below, but it’s a great way to get a general feel for the area you’re thinking about. The reason we recommend taking a drive around later at night is to learn if there are party spots or noisy neighbourhoods who might make life difficult.
• Check online crime statistics: NZ Police publish crime statistics for different areas of the country which allow you to check out what, if anything, has been happening in the area you’re considering.
• Check Facebook groups: many suburbs or neighbourhoods around NZ have online fora, like community Facebook groups that enable you to understand issues that are impacting residents, and whether they’re being dealt with.

Transport links will impact both your daily life, and the value of your property, so they’re an important amenity to understand before buying a home.

Factors such as how often and how far you travel for work, whether you have children old enough to get themselves to school, and how close you are to other amenities (see below), will determine what transport links you need, and how badly you need them.

If you mostly work from home and have a car to get to the supermarket, you might be content to walk a bit further to the bus stop on the relatively few occasions that you need it. However, if your job requires you to regularly fly around the country to meet clients, being close to the airport might be a critical factor in the location of your house.

Again, it’s worth putting yourself in your own potential future shoes. Walk the route you’d take to your nearest bus or train stop, see how long it takes. Similarly, jump on the bus itself at rush hour, and see how long it takes to get to work, so you know how that commute will feel on a daily basis.

Schools can be a decisive factor for parents, or prospective parents, when choosing which suburb of a city or town to buy in. And there's a good reason for this.

When considering where to buy a house, it’s important to factor in local schools, especially since school zoning can impact your options. Children who live in a school's designated zone are guaranteed enrollment at that school, while those outside the zone can only apply if the school has spots left over.

So, you’ll want to do some research on what the best schools are, where their zone boundaries are, and what housing options exist within these zones. Importantly, on Trade Me Property you can now see a complete list of a home’s local schools, at childhood, primary, intermediate and secondary levels.

There are several other amenities that are highly desirable to have in the immediate vicinity of your home, both from the perspective of property value and making life easy. These include:

• Supermarkets or grocery stores
• Parks, beaches and green spaces (there’s heaps of evidence linking this positively to property prices, as well as general enjoyment!)
• Recreational facilities – think cinemas, libraries, gyms, kids’ play centres
• Restaurants, bars and cafes
• GPs and dentists
• Community centres