Brooklyn
Character housing with city and harbour views
Overview
Overflowing with character homes, some with panoramic views over the city, Brooklyn is a sought-after central suburb. The ideal Brooklyn home is set at the northern end of the suburb, enjoying a wide panorama over Wellington Harbour, and only a short walk to village shopping on Cleveland Street. These homes aren’t cheap. If you’re on a tighter budget don’t despair. The southern end of Brooklyn tends to be more affordable and is an excellent entry area for first home buyers. Regular bus services to the city ensure that Brooklyn is very popular with owner-occupiers and renters.
Best Suited To
City workers who want to be handy to the office but require a reasonable sized garden.
Population Profile
Brooklynites are a microcosm of Wellington, a good mix of age groups from young renters to retirees. Most residents are in the 30-to-50 age bracket, with well paid jobs and owning their homes. Younger renters enjoy the fact they are not far from the city and that there is a good base of local shopping for day-to-day needs. Having said all this, Brooklyn is not culturally diverse, predominately European. Those wanting a wider cultural mix will be offered more variety in Newtown or Kilbirnie.
Typical Homes
Villas and bungalows built between 1900 and 1930 are the dominant house style here. Many homes in Brooklyn still enjoy spacious garden sites, more than 500 square meters, and this makes the area appealing to families. Some larger sites have been subdivided and there is a smattering of modern, infill housing where this has occurred.
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Panorama Heights is ‘new Brooklyn’, developed mostly in the 1990s on the elevated, western foothills. The modern homes here are much larger than a traditional Brooklyn villa. They were often constructed utilising monolithic cladding. Beware of this cladding as it has proved problematic and is prone to leaks. See our glossary section for more details on this.
Amenities
Focused on the junction of Ohiro Road and Cleveland Street, Brooklyn shopping village is compact, but provides for most daily needs. There is a reasonable collection of amenities including a small supermarket, liquor store, various takeaways, DVD hire, hair salon, chemist, restaurant, together with the popular art-house cinema complex, The Penthouse
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Brooklyn Primary School is situated on Washington Avenue, just around the corner from the shopping area. There is also a small Catholic primary school, St Bernard’s. The nearest secondary school is Wellington High School, about 15 minutes’ walk away in the nearby suburb of Mt Cook.
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An urban oasis, Central Park forms part of Wellington’s Town Belt and is set in a forested valley with attractive walking tracks that wind their way down to the central city. The park is accessed from Brooklyn Road or Ohiro Road and includes a children’s playground. For those who prefer more vigorous physical activity, the Renouf Tennis Centre (four indoor and fourteen outdoor courts) is set about halfway up Brooklyn Road. Tanera Park, just above Central Park, offers a level field that’s popular with ball sports, while it also provides an off-leash dog exercise area and a community garden. There are a number of small neighbourhood parks, scattered throughout Brooklyn.
Real Estate Trends
Brooklyn has seen steady if unspectacular growth. The number of million-dollar sales continues to grow, but slowly in comparison to other areas. The highest sale in the past year was $2 million for an early 1900s villa, close to the village. At the other end of the price scale, a modest home situated toward the less favoured south end of Ohiro Road, sold for $400,000.
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All homes that hit the market here draw good buyer interest, primarily because Brooklyn is so handy to the city. A taxi ride home after a late night is not going to cost a fortune. Unfortunately, that means you are likely to have stiff competition from other buyers when looking to purchase here.
Best Streets
Washington Avenue for its handy proximity to local shopping. Karepa and Apuka Street are sought after for spectacular views over the city and harbour.
House Prices
Three bedroom house, from $500,000.
Four bedroom house, from $800,000.
Travel Times
Central city – driving 5 minutes, walking 15-20 minutes.
Airport – driving 20 minutes.
Hutt Valley- driving 15-20 minutes.
Weather
Properties facing north with no protection will suffer from a constant northerly; this is the price you pay in Wellington for a great view. Houses that are set around the shopping precinct benefit from shelter and a warmer micro-climate but miss out on any views. The east and south facing hillsides can suffer from shading. This is particularly prevalent in the southern portions of Ohiro Road.