Suburb spotlight: Grey Lynn
The trendy, humming suburb of Grey Lynn is popular with renters due to its great location, sought-after schools and strong sense of community.
Why choose Grey Lynn?
Just minutes from Auckland’s CBD and with easy motorway access, Grey Lynn offers a diverse culture, a friendly community, beautiful character housing, and green space in the form of the centrally located Grey Lynn Park.
The suburb even has more on-street parking than Ponsonby.
Grey Lynn Property Manager Raewyn Stanaway says that because of the premium location, properties in Grey Lynn are becoming more and more popular with renters.
"Some of our tenants actually own properties in other parts of Auckland but choose to rent in Grey Lynn," she says.
"Grey Lynn Village, West Lynn Village and Richmond Road have a unique range of shops and cafes, and Western Springs, Auckland Zoo and Motat are just a short walk away.
"There are also several luxury apartment buildings opening up in the suburb, which are great for investors.
"In zone are some sought after schools such as Grey Lynn Primary, Western Springs College and Auckland Girls Grammar School."
Auckland comparison*
- Gross rental yield: Grey Lynn 2.79% and Auckland 3.26%
- Average sale price (three bedroom): Grey Lynn $1,233,500 and Auckland $774,411
- Average weekly rent (three bedroom): Grey Lynn $663 and Auckland $486
*Source: Barfoot and Thompson average tenancies as at 1 June 2015 and Barfoot & Thompson average sales over the last six months to beginning June 2015 for three bedroom properties in Auckland. Yield calculated using average sale price and average rental per week.
The leafy and trendy suburb of Grey Lynn
About Grey Lynn
Named after Sir George Grey (explorer, Governor and later Premier of New Zealand), Grey Lynn is an inner city suburb located just 3km to the west of Auckland CBD.
Most of Grey Lynn's houses were built between the 1880s and the beginning of the First World War. A large proportion of these original character houses remain today, many beautifully renovated.
The suburb went through a series of economic and cultural transformations during the 20th Century. During the 1930s and 1940s, the traditional villas were beginning to age and were increasingly seen as old fashioned and undesirable.
By the 1950s, the low rent on offer in Grey Lynn and Ponsonby was attracting students and immigrant workers from the Pacific Islands to the area. The 1970s saw a renewed interest in the older style properties and young professionals began moving to the area and renovating the dilapidated Kauri villas.
By the 1990s, the gentrification process had changed the area, with older houses restored, boutique-style cafes and shops opening - and house prices starting to rise. Today you wouldn't recognise the Grey Lynn of the 1930s, it now being one of the most sort after suburbs in Auckland.
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