Newtown

Typical Homes

Newtown grew rapidly from the late 1800s and here you’ll find many villas, cottages and bungalows. Villas can be detached, semidetached, or sometimes converted into flats.

Small cottages and early bungalows abound, many of these extended or rebuilt to the rear so they provide a better flow into back gardens. Sites are often small in comparison to suburbs further out, and houses are often situated up against or very close to side boundaries This means you’ll need some tolerance of neighbours, as they are often within striking distance over the fence. Of course you could say that small yards and low fences’ are part of Newtown’s appeal – a community, where neighbours get to know one another.

Many new townhouses have gone up in recent years; these have added an extra dimension to the suburb, bringing young renters here, who prefer something modern.

Amenities

Riddiford Street is the high street that extends through the center of Newtown, providing a wide range of shopping services including ethnic food stores, cafes, bars and restaurants, independent bookshops, as well as chemists, two supermarkets and everything else for your daily needs. Newtown is also home to an active music and cultural scene – Moon is a popular live music venue on Riddiford Street, while Baobab Cafe (across the road from Moon, and with a great outdoor courtyard) often hosts live music on Friday evenings.

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Newtown School (primary) is situated in the heart of the shopping area, having a roll of about 230 students. St Anne’s is the local Catholic school, taking children from years one to eight. High School options nearby include Wellington High School (mixed), Wellington College (boys), and Wellington Girls (girls).

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Wellington Zoo is set at the south end of the suburb. Established in 1906, it has had significant investment in recent years to make it more appealing to the modern zoo visitor. Next door to the zoo is Newtown Athletic Stadium, a venue for many sporting events including track and field and football. The Wellington Town Belt borders the suburb on its eastern and southern sides, providing plenty of easily accessible walking tracks and green space to enjoy.

Real Estate Trends

Newtown has always been a popular locality, with demand driven by the wide range of property types and proximity to the city and the hospital. Newtown is seen as an interesting, cosmopolitan suburb where you can mingle with people from many different backgrounds while enjoying everything that the central city has to offer.

It is possible to pick up a small, one bedroom flat here for under $450,000. Choices become wider once you stretch your budget to $600,000. Newer townhouses are likely to set you back $800,000-plus. Small, older cottages can be picked up from about $700,000.  Most villas and bungalows tend to sell in the $900,000 to $1.4 million price range.

It is rare for a single dwelling to achieve over $1.8 million, because bourgeois snobbishness tends to kick in above this level and people move to more salubrious suburbs, like Mt Victoria.

Best Streets

It depends on how close to the shopping strip you want to be. Some people prefer to stay close to the central shopping area and for this you can’t beat a renovated villa on Somerset Avenue, Picton Avenue or one of the short no-exit streets like Corunna Avenue or Douro Avenue.

If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, the southern ends of Daniel Street and Owen Street have some lovely character homes. Roy Street is close to the zoo, and here you’ll find an attractive group of renovated, character villas.