Auckland City

Including Newton and Grafton.

It took us a while to cotton on but now, like other major cities, we see our CBD as a place to live not just work and play.

As well as the ageing baby boomers, central Auckland is also home to many young people. Despite recent bad press among the Asian communities, there are still tertiary and language school students living in inner city apartments.

Many residents choose the city because they can walk to work, universities, schools and entertainment. Other than students, working inner city residents tend to be professionals..

Typical dwellings As you'd expect, the city scene is apartments of different sizes and styles.

There are older houses in Grafton and Newton, but many of the grand villas have made way for terrace housing developments.

Amenities

Demand for schooling in the central city is not great. The eastern part is in zone for Auckland Grammar. Others include Freemans Bay Primary, private Jewish school Kadimah College, Senior College and Auckland Girls Grammar. Queen St shopping is once again attracting serious shoppers after a time where people flocked to suburban malls. Fashionable new chain stores sit alongside established outlets such as Smith & Caughey.

Newmarket and St Lukes mall are relatively close and two large supermarkets, Foodtown near Britomart and New World in Freemans Bay, give inner city dwellers plenty of choice for food shopping.

Its relaxing to walk around the central city waterfront, where there's plenty of boat watching, while the viaduct's cafes, bars and restaurants are still the place to be seen, for trendy Aucklanders and tourists alike.

Beyond the harbour, the central city has plenty of tempting cafes for people-watching. There are a few green spaces in the area, including Albert Park, Myers Park and Victoria Park and the Auckland Domain isn't far for joggers.

REAL ESTATE

Trends

The only certain trend is the increased sales of small inner city apartments.

With houses taking longer to sell and prices in many suburbs falling or levelling off, commentators attribute the recent Auckland median house price drop to sales of lower-end inner city apartments.

Parking facilities can cost from $35,000 extra and are often on a separate title.

Rental and investment

This area will always attract renters and investors, with plenty of choice for both parties. According to the Auckland City Council, about half the CBD apartments are owner-occupied and half rented.