Feature article

What's it like to live in Howick?

There’s a real community vibe to this Auckland suburb.

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, in addition to walking its streets, this is a question of good old fashioned research.

To help you decide which is the best suburb in Auckland for your next home, 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 looking at community-centric Howick.

Howick’s property landscape

Average Howick property prices:

For the six months to July 31, 2020, Howick house prices* looked like this:

House: $1.06 m.
Townhouse: $888,920.
Apartment: $710,000
Unit: $696,500.

Howick property types

For the six months to the end of July 31, 2020, Howick saw 149 properties listed for sale on Trade Me. These were broken down as follows:

House: 124 listings.
Townhouse: 12 listings.
Apartment: 3 listings.
Unit: 10 listings.

Mangemangeroa Reserve, in nearby Somerville, is a popular spot for Howick residents.

Life in Howick

From culture to coastline, native bush to night markets, Howick has plenty to offer its residents. Here are a few of our top picks of things to do in Howick:

Howick Historical Village: keen to learn more about Howicks origins? Stepping into Howick Historical Village is like stepping back in time, a chance to experience colonial life in New Zealand in the 1800s.
A selection of beaches: as well as Howick Beach, nearby options include Cockle Bay and Mellons Bay, meaning there’s no shortage of opportunities for sand, sea and sun. If you’re after a bit of exercise, Mangemangeroa Reserve, in nearby Somerville, is a great slice of urban nature, complete with waterfall, native bush and birdlife.
Night Market: the Pakuranga Plaza car park plays host to a night market on Saturdays from 6PM, allowing patrons to sample cuisine from around the world at one of Auckland’s largest night markets.

Getting around

By road, Howick is just under 20km from Auckland CBD. It’s safe to say that, during peak hours, the commute into central Auckland can be quite time-consuming.

Alternative options to avoid rush hour include taking the ferry from nearby Half Moon Bay Marina. Dropping passengers at Auckland City Ferry Terminal, this scenic commute takes roughly 40 minutes.

Another option is driving to Panmure train station, and taking the train into Britomart from there.

Schools in Howick

Parents looking for schooling options in and around Howick will be pleased to know there are several options available. These include:

Howick Primary School: 40 Willoughby Ave.
Howick Intermediate School: Botany Rd.
Howick College: 25 Sandspit Rd.

If you want to know more about individual properties within Howick, try our free Property Insights tool. This interface allows you to view records, rateable values (RVs), estimates and recent sales for over 1.5 million NZ properties, as well as tracking how these values change over time.

* All data is for the six months to 31 July 2020, and is derived from properties listed on Trade Me Property. Average house prices are mean prices for the suburb over the same time period.