Can you afford a home in Palmerston North?
What a median Palmerston North home costs against what the median Palmerston North household earns: the deposit, the repayment on today’s rates and the share of income it takes, by bedrooms and suburb by suburb.
Palmerston North by bedrooms
| Home | Median sale | 20% deposit | Weekly repayment | Share of income | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 bedrooms | $470,000 (126) | $94,000 | $520 | 28.7% | $90,000 |
| 3 bedrooms | $582,000 (666) | $116,400 | $644 | 35.5% | $112,000 |
| 4 bedrooms | $785,500 (322) | $157,100 | $869 | 47.9% | $151,000 |
| All homes | $625,000 (1,320) | $125,000 | $691 | 38.1% | $120,000 |
Sales in the last twelve months in brackets. Share of income is against the median Palmerston North household, whatever the home; income needed is what would keep the repayments to 30% of income.
Palmerston North suburbs, most affordable first
Against each suburb’s own median household income, Tokomaru is the most affordable of 15 Palmerston North suburbs, at 28% of income, and Palmerston North the least, at 49%. A suburb where incomes are high can be more affordable to the people who live there than its prices suggest.
| Tokomaru | $529,000 | $585 | $107,399 | 28.3% | 6.6 |
| Westbrook | $524,000 | $580 | $85,995 | 35.0% | 8.1 |
| Cloverlea | $540,000 | $597 | $87,683 | 35.4% | 8.2 |
| Milson | $584,000 | $646 | $92,802 | 36.2% | 8.4 |
| Fitzherbert | $880,000 | $973 | $137,608 | 36.8% | 8.5 |
| Awapuni | $609,750 | $674 | $94,885 | 37.0% | 8.6 |
| Kelvin Grove | $758,000 | $838 | $115,130 | 37.9% | 8.8 |
| Takaro | $560,000 | $619 | $84,224 | 38.2% | 8.9 |
| Highbury | $514,500 | $569 | $75,001 | 39.5% | 9.1 |
| Bunnythorpe | $809,000 | $895 | $117,789 | 39.5% | 9.2 |
| Terrace End | $625,000 | $691 | $88,434 | 40.6% | 9.4 |
| Hokowhitu | $742,000 | $821 | $104,436 | 40.9% | 9.5 |
| Roslyn | $525,000 | $581 | $72,223 | 41.8% | 9.7 |
| West End | $565,000 | $625 | $77,174 | 42.1% | 9.8 |
| Palmerston North | $647,000 | $716 | $75,223 | 49.5% | 11.5 |
| Palmerston North | $625,000 | $691 | $94,348 | 38.1% | 8.8 |
20% deposit, 6% over 30 years, saving 15% of income. Share of income is a year’s repayments over the median household income before tax; above 30% is marked. Loans over 6 times income fall under the Reserve Bank’s debt-to-income limit.
Next steps
Look up homes in Palmerston North: every property page shows an estimate of its value and what it last sold for. Work through your own figures with how much you could borrow, or compare Palmerston North with other towns.
Sales from council and LINZ records, as at 18 September 2026. Household incomes from the 2023 census, before tax. A guide, not a lender’s assessment.
Questions
How much do I need to earn to buy a home in Palmerston North?
For repayments on a median Palmerston North home ($625,000) to stay within 30% of income, with a 20% deposit at 6% over 30 years, a household would need about $120,000 a year before tax. The median Palmerston North household earned $94,348 in the 2023 census.
Where do these figures come from?
The median of every Palmerston North sale recorded in council and LINZ records over the last twelve months, and the median household income in the 2023 census, before tax. Suburbs need at least 10 sales in the year to be listed.
What interest rate is used?
Today’s average advertised 1-year rate across lenders, held for the whole term. Type your own to see the difference.
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