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Auckland · Q1 2026

Hillcrest

Median weekly rent, six-year trend and rental yield for Hillcrest — built from 117 tenancy bonds lodged with Tenancy Services, across the 3 statistical areas that make up the suburb.

$687
median weekly rent · Q1 2026
↑ +2.7% year on year

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · 117 new bonds · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

Typical range
$615–$762
middle 50% of new tenancies
Year on year
+2.7%
vs Q1 2025
Annual rent
$35,724
at the median, 52 weeks
Sample size
117
new bonds this quarter

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Q1 2026 bond lodgements · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

01

Where Hillcrest sits in Auckland

Every one of the 246 suburbs we track is a tick on this scale, placed by its median weekly rent. Hillcrest is the 106th most expensive of the 246 Auckland suburbs we track — pricier than 57% of them.

Hillcrest $687 $295 cheapest $993 dearest

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · 246 Auckland suburbs · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

The median weekly rent in Hillcrest is $687, based on 117 new tenancy bonds lodged in Q1 2026. That is 10% above the Auckland-wide median of $622.

Over the past year the median has risen 2.7%, and it is up 18% on Q1 2020, when the median was $573.

Most new tenancies fall between $615 and $762 a week — the middle half of the market.

Hillcrest is the 106th most expensive of the 246 Auckland suburbs we track — pricier than 57% of them.

02

How the Hillcrest figure is calculated

  1. Take every tenancy bond lodged with Tenancy Services in Q1 2026 for the 3 statistical areas that make up Hillcrest — 117 of them.
  2. Discard any cell built on fewer than five bonds. MBIE withholds those to protect individual tenants, which is why some bedroom sizes below show a dash.
  3. Combine the area medians with a bond-count-weighted geometric mean, so a small area with three tenancies cannot swing the suburb figure.
  4. Report the median rather than the average: a handful of very expensive tenancies cannot drag it.
    weekly median = geomean(area medians, weight = bond count) annual gross rent = weekly median × 52 = $35,724

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Weighted geometric mean · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

03

Six years of rent

Median weekly rent on new tenancies, Q1 2020 to Q1 2026. Hover the chart to read any quarter.

$480$620$760 $687 Q1 2020Q1 2023Q1 2026
View the numbers behind this chart
QuarterMedian weekly rentNew bonds
Q1 2020$57396
Q2 2020$59166
Q3 2020$55187
Q4 2020$58396
Q1 2021$58199
Q2 2021$59375
Q3 2021$64066
Q4 2021$581105
Q1 2022$62096
Q2 2022$64487
Q3 2022$59193
Q4 2022$63299
Q1 2023$648105
Q2 2023$63478
Q3 2023$69078
Q4 2023$64087
Q1 2024$67581
Q2 2024$69072
Q3 2024$67890
Q4 2024$68584
Q1 2025$669117
Q2 2025$71681
Q3 2025$68584
Q4 2025$72484
Q1 2026$687117

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Q1 2020 – Q1 2026 · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

04

Rent by size

Q1 2026. Sizes with fewer than five bonds are withheld by Tenancy Services to protect tenants' privacy.

1 bedroom $688 45 bonds
2 bedrooms $608 24 bonds
3 bedrooms $687 27 bonds
4 bedrooms $864 18 bonds

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Withheld below 5 bonds · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

05

Rent by property typeQ1 2026

The headline median covers every property type together, so the mix matters — a suburb with many rooms or studios shows a lower overall median than its houses alone.

Property typeMedian weeklyBondsShare
House$7059985%
Flat$59065%

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Property-type split · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

06

Rental yield

Pre-filled with the Hillcrest median rent. Enter a purchase price to see the gross yield.

Gross yield ignores rates, insurance, maintenance, management and vacancy. Net yield is typically 1–2 percentage points lower — the full calculator works both out.

Gross rental yield

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Rent pre-filled, price is yours · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

07

Nearby suburbsQ1 2026

The closest suburbs to Hillcrest, by distance between area centres.

SuburbMedian weeklyDifferenceDistance
Northcote$645-$421.2 km
Glenfield$680-$71.6 km
Birkenhead$717+$302 km
Northcote Tuff Crater$625-$622.1 km
Westlake$745+$582.5 km
Northcote Point$780+$932.6 km

Source · MBIE Tenancy Services — Q1 2026 · Straight-line distance, area centres · Reviewed Aug 2026 · Method

08

What you could build in Hillcrest

Rent tells you what a Hillcrest property earns today. Zoning tells you what it could become — a second dwelling on the same section changes the income on this page entirely.

Hillcrest zoning, granny-flat rules and flood overlays

Our companion tool PropertyScope reads Auckland Council's planning data for any Hillcrest address — the zone, how many dwellings are allowed, whether a 70m² granny flat qualifies, and any hazard overlays on the land. At the Hillcrest median of $687 a week, a second dwelling would add roughly $35,724 a year in gross rent.

Check Hillcrest zoning and development rules →

Schools in Hillcrest

There are 2 schools in Hillcrest. 2 of them operate an enrolment zone, so where you rent decides which ones you can enrol in. Our companion site NZ School Finder lists every one with its roll, year levels and zone status, straight from the Ministry of Education's directory — and publishes no rankings or ratings.

See the 2 schools in Hillcrest →

Sports clubs and gyms in Hillcrest

4 sports clubs, gyms and pools are mapped in Hillcrest. Our companion directory Sideline lists every one in the country, compiled from OpenStreetMap — and nobody can buy a ranking in it.

See what's on in Hillcrest →
09

Common questions

What is the average rent in Hillcrest?
The median weekly rent for a new tenancy in Hillcrest is $687 (Q1 2026), from 117 bonds lodged with Tenancy Services. We use the median rather than a simple average because it is not distorted by a handful of very high or very low rents.
Are rents in Hillcrest going up or down?
Rents are rising — the median is up 2.7% on the same quarter last year. Over five years the median has moved +18.2%.
How much is a three-bedroom in Hillcrest?
A one-bedroom is typically $688 a week, a two-bedroom $608, a three-bedroom $687, a four-bedroom $864.
Is Hillcrest expensive compared with the rest of Auckland?
At $687 a week, Hillcrest is above the Auckland median of $622. Hillcrest is the 106th most expensive of the 246 Auckland suburbs we track — pricier than 57% of them.
What rental yield does Hillcrest produce?
Gross yield depends on the purchase price. At the Hillcrest median rent of $687 a week, annual rent is about $35,724. Divide that by the property price for gross yield — $35,724 on a $900,000 property is roughly 4.0%.

Thinking of renting out or selling in Hillcrest?

Amit Sharma is an award-winning Auckland agent. Get a free, no-obligation appraisal of what your Hillcrest property would rent or sell for today — based on real local numbers, not a guess.

Request a free appraisal

Areas included in Hillcrest: Hillcrest North (Auckland) · Hillcrest West (Auckland) · Hillcrest East (Auckland). See how we combine them.