Top of the South Island pops

Despite a tendency towards political conservatism and a high number of retirees and rest homes, Nelson and the Tasman region still live up to their popular perception as an arty enclave of sun-obsessed semi-hippies with a strong community heart. 

Nelson is the third-most ethnically diverse place in New Zealand. In the 1970s  hippies were attracted to rural Tasman Bay and Golden Bay by cheap land prices. Since the 2000s different types of lifestylers – wealthy people from Germany, the US and other countries – attracted by the climate and environment have bought coastal land in the area.

There has been rapid growth in coastal areas such as Kaiteriteri and rural Waimea – around Richmond, Wakefield, Brightwater, Māpua and Wai-iti. Motueka and Nelson city have had reasonable growth – much of it driven by internal migration.

This has led to house prices surging in line with the rest of the country and the median price for homes within the most popular Nelson suburbs is $640,000, a rise of 12% in the past year and three-year growth of 29%. In Tasman’s most popular areas the median price is $720,000, also an increase of 12% in one year and growth of 30% over three years, according to data from real estate agency Ray White.