Buying guide

The best suburbs in Christchurch to buy: Halswell

Interested in buying in Halswell? You aren’t the only one.

Last updated: 11 June 2024

On the south-west of Christchurch, you’ll find the extensive suburb of Halswell, the city’s largest in terms of the amount of residential housing stock.

As with the other Christchurch suburbs we’ve virtually recced in this series, Halswell has been one of the most popular areas among those searched by Trade Me Property users so far in 2024. Christchurch as a whole has seen a substantial increase in demand from home buyers in recent months, with the Garden City’s property market experiencing rising property prices due to growing interest from Kiwi home buyers. Our April Property Price Index, showed that Christchurch city property prices had increased 4% year-on-year, reaching an average asking price of $711,450 in March 2024.

If you’re considering buying property in Christchurch, we’re hoping that this article series provides some useful information that will help steer you towards the suburb that best suits your needs. As well as house prices, this means you need to understand what amenities are easily available, including schools, public transport links and recreation and retail opportunities.

So, with that in mind, let’s dive into why so many people are searching for houses for sale in Halswell.

Halswell, Christchurch: key info

It wasn’t so long ago that Halswell was an entirely separate village to the city of Christchurch. Gradually, the city limits crept southwards through the establishment and subdivision of other suburbs such as Oaklands and Aidanfield. Through these processes, Halswell became part of the Christchurch urban area in the 1990s.

Today, Halswell is home to a population of 10,620, according to the 2023 census. However, its large size (some 12.54 square kilometres) means that the population density of 847 per kilometre square is considerably lower than some of the other suburbs we’ve explored so far.

According to the most recent Trade Me Property data, the average property price in Halswell is $815,200.

Why do people want to buy homes in Halswell, Christchurch?

1. Great amenities

Due to its recent status as a self-contained village, Halswell really does have everything you could possibly need for a convenient day-to-day life.

Supermarkets: As well as a New World, Halswell also has a Metro Mart and Halswell Fresh, a fresh fruit and vegetable store, meaning you’re very well catered for when it comes to getting the weekly groceries in.
Medical facilities: Halswell residents are also well looked after when it comes to health facilities. The suburb boasts both a medical centre (Halswellhealth at Longhurst Health) as well as several dental services such as Halswell Dental Centre, Levy Vivienne Dental Care and Longhurst Dental.
Fitness facilities: if you’re a gym junkie, you’ll find four or five great options within Halswell, including Culture Fitness Halswell and Blitz Fitness.

2. Green spaces

We all know the importance of green spaces for our mental wellbeing, joggers love having parks on their doorstep for their physical health too, and proximity to parks can also increase the value of your property.

Well, the good news is that there is plenty of green space in and around Halswell. In fact, as the south-western frontier of Christchurch, most of the west side of Halswell borders directly onto farmland, making it easy to forget how close you are to the centre of the South Island’s largest city. Within the suburb itself, residents have a number of green spaces at their disposal, including the picturesque Halswell Domain (complete with children’s playground) and Westlake Reserve. The latter is also a good spot for birdwatchers, who will enjoy the variety of freshwater and marine birds that hang out on the lake.

Got a need for speed (or kids who do)? Another great outdoor activity in Halswell is heading to the open air Kartsport Canterbury Race Track. This is the largest kart club in the South Island, and welcomes speed demons of all ages!

You'll find plenty of green and natural spaces in Halswell.

3. Local businesses

You’ll find businesses of different shapes and sizes, representing sectors ranging from finance and accounting to IT to hair and beauty. What does this tell you?

Well, with so many thriving employers in Halswell, if you own a company, this suburb is certainly a business friendly place to set up shop. You’ll also get great support from the local community, as evidenced by the Halswell Community website, which contains an exhaustive list of the companies that can be found within the suburb’s boundaries.

Having so many businesses on your doorstep also adds to the convenience of life in Halswell. Whether you’re looking to get family portraits taken, someone to take care of the kids or tradies for home renovations or repairs, you’ll find all of these services on offer in your neighbourhood.

4. Education opportunities

Families looking for great schools to send their kids to have a number of excellent options in and around Halswell. These include:

Halswell School
Oaklands School
Knights Stream School
Seven Oaks School
Seven Oaks Secondary School
Aidanfield Christian School
Wigram Primary School
Rowley Avenue School

5. Access in and out of the city

Although a little more distant from the heart of Christchurch than some of the suburbs we’ve explored in this series, Halswell is still pretty handy for getting into town. On a Monday morning, you could expect driving into the city between 12 and 26 minutes, according to Google Maps, while cycling will take you around 28 minutes.

For those jumping on the bus, you might expect your Monday morning commute to take around 45 minutes, with two buses taking you all of the way.

Hunting for homes in Halswell?

Check out the range of Halswell houses for sale on Trade Me Property.

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Author

Al Hall

Al Hall is a regular contributor at Trade Me Jobs and Trade Me Property. He’s dedicated to helping people succeed in their aspirations to find their dream job and place to live.