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Renovating in Rothesay Bay · Hibiscus and Bays

Renovating in Rothesay Bay

What the published data says about renovation work around Rothesay Bay: the zoning on the Unitary Plan map, whether special character or heritage overlays reach into the suburb, what alteration consents in Hibiscus and Bays are being valued at, how much new building is going on, and what the suburb rents for. None of it is a determination about your property.

$119,769
Average declared value of a dwelling alteration consent in Hibiscus and Bays over the twelve months to May 2026 — $44.79m across 374 consents. The Auckland average is $163,752. This is the applicant’s own estimate of build cost at consent time, it excludes land, and it is not a quote. The full Hibiscus and Bays picture.

Stats NZ — Building consents issued — Auckland local boards, May 2026 release · May 2026

The map

What the Unitary Plan zones in this suburb

Sampled across Rothesay Bay, the base-zone mix below covers 80% of the suburb’s area from 646 sample points. The derived bucket is Mixed Housing Suburban — the Auckland default.

Zoning on Rothesay Bay at PropertyScope.

The single most important fact here

Special character and historic heritage

For a renovation this outranks everything else on the page. Overlays can control demolition and changes to the external appearance of a building, which is exactly what an extension, a reclad or a new opening does.

Planning-overlay constraint profile — Rothesay Bay
ConstraintThis suburb
Special Character Area overlayNo overlay intersects this suburb
Distinct character areas intersecting0
Approximate share of suburb area inside an overlay0%
Scheduled historic heritage places2
Historic heritage extents intersecting1

Counts are of distinct overlay features intersecting the suburb, de-duplicated across its statistical areas. The area share is approximate: it is estimated by systematic point sampling, so treat single-digit percentages as "some" rather than exact. A zero is a true zero — no overlay polygon intersects the suburb — not a missing value.

Auckland Council — Special Character Areas Overlay (Residential and Business) — derived aggregates only · 2026-07-30

Source: Plans and Places, Auckland Council (Unitary Plan overlays).

How much is being built

New dwellings consented here

New building is not renovation, but it is the best available signal of how much pressure a suburb is under — and of whether the trades you need are already booked.

47 new dwellings consented in Rothesay Bay in the twelve months to May 2026 (-4.1% on the year before)

Stats NZ — New dwellings consented by statistical area 2, May 2026 release · May 2026

142 new dwellings consented over the last five years — the longer signal of how much this suburb is changing

Stats NZ — New dwellings consented by statistical area 2, May 2026 release · May 2026

New dwellings consented by type, five years to May 2026 — Rothesay Bay
TypeConsented
Standalone houses44
Townhouses, flats and units98
Apartments0
Retirement village units0

New dwellings only. This table says nothing about alterations to existing houses — that series is reported by local board, not by suburb, and is above.

Stats NZ — New dwellings consented by statistical area 2, May 2026 release · May 2026

The investment case

What this suburb rents for

If the renovation is on a rental, or is meant to become one, the rent is the other half of the sum. This is the median weekly rent lodged with bonds in Q1 2026, against an Auckland median of $622.

$795/wk median weekly rent in Rothesay Bay, from 18 bonds lodged in Q1 2026. Lower quartile $675, upper quartile $900.

MBIE (Tenancy Services) rental bond data · Q1 2026

A median is not a valuation and a rent rise is not a return: the cost of the work, the vacancy while it is done, and the rules on what you can charge all sit in between. Bond lodgements also under-represent long-standing tenancies, because a bond is lodged when a tenancy starts.

Rent detail for Rothesay Bay at SuburbIQ.

Median weekly rent by bedrooms — Rothesay Bay
BedroomsMedianBonds
1 bedroom$7609

Small bond counts make a median move a long way. Where a row rests on a handful of bonds, read it as an indication only.

MBIE (Tenancy Services) rental bond data · Q1 2026