Auckland home buyers wanting to move south as crime rises

Home buyers in Auckland are increasingly wanting to move to the South Island as crime rises in New Zealand’s largest city.

On Wednesday, Tall Poppy Real Estate said in a statement police statistics revealed more than 7408 unlawful entry crimes were reported in Auckland in the year to December 2022.

Unlawful entry crimes were significantly lower over the same period in Otago, with only 2000 crimes reported.

Tall Poppy Queenstown’s business partner Keeley Anderson said she hears from people daily who want to move down south for a safer lifestyle.

“Despite it taking longer for homes to sell and Auckland’s falling prices, we have lots of motivated buyers who want to relocate South and gain some peace of mind,” Anderson said.

“Just recently, I spoke with a buyer who had experienced multiple break-ins and didn’t feel safe and was looking to relocate their family to a less populated region that had lower rates of crime.”

Tall Poppy’s Tauranga’s business partner Janet O’Shea said the decline of buyers from Auckland became clear in April 2022.

“It’s really hard for buyers from built-up and heavily populated areas to find sections and subdivisions. After the challenges of recent years, people are keen to have more land, more space and fewer people, which is something the South Island offers in spades,” Anderson said.

Anderson added the desire to move to the South Island has taken over the want for Auckland buyers to move to regions like Tauranga.

Another “hot spot” for Aucklanders was the Bay of Plenty region, but these days most buyers in the region are locals.

“Most of our properties are going to local buyers – particularly first-time buyers who are finding the market much more accessible,” O’Shea said.