Newtown
Newtown is the inner-south suburb of Wellington around Riddiford Street, the hospital and the zoo, with the best food street in the city and villas on every side street.
Why people love it here
Newtown is where you go to eat. Riddiford Street and the blocks either side hold more kitchens per hundred metres than anywhere else in Wellington, and they are not versions of each other: Ethiopian, Malaysian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Italian and a fish and chip shop, mostly family run and mostly within a block.
It is also a working main street rather than a strip that empties at five. The hospital is at one end, the shops stay open, and the greengrocer is somewhere people actually do their shopping rather than a display.
The housing is the other half of it. Villas and bungalows on the streets climbing away from Riddiford Street, a lot of it original, and enough of it in one place that the streetscape reads as a whole rather than as a row of renovations.
And it is close to everything. The hospital, Massey and the zoo are minutes away, the number 1 and the number 3 run the length of the main street into town, and the Basin Reserve is a walk.
Newtown, counted
Stats NZ figures for the statistical area Newtown, Place summaries. Population is the estimated resident population; the rest are the 2023 Census. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
The best of Newtown
Every pick checked against its own listing on 13 September 2026.
What you can buy here
The Newtown villa
Two storeys, bay window, on one of the streets climbing off Riddiford Street. The one people picture when they say they want to live here.
The workers cottage
Single storey, close to the street, small section. The way most of the suburb was built and still the way most of it trades.
The converted flat
Older blocks and villa conversions, walking distance to the hospital. What most first home buyers and a lot of investors look at first.
The street that feeds the city
The food
More kitchens in a few blocks than anywhere else in Wellington, most of them family run, and almost none of them a chain.
The buildings
The Riddiford Street verandahs and the shopfronts under them are among the most intact early twentieth century retail rows left in the city.
What people ask about Newtown
Where is Newtown?
Newtown is in Wellington's inner south, about 3 km from Lambton Quay, between Mount Cook and the Basin Reserve to the north and Berhampore to the south.
How far is Newtown from Wellington's city centre?
About 3 km by road. The number 1 bus runs down Riddiford Street into the city, and the Basin Reserve and Pukeahu are a walk away.
What is Newtown known for?
Riddiford Street's cafes and restaurants, the Newtown Festival, Wellington Hospital, Wellington Zoo and the Saturday market.
What kind of homes are in Newtown?
Villas and cottages from the 1890s to the 1920s on the flat and the side streets, with newer townhouses and apartments close to Riddiford Street.
What schools are in Newtown?
Newtown School and St Anne's School are the primaries, South Wellington Intermediate is on Te Wharepōuri Street in Berhampore, and Wellington East Girls' College and Wellington High School are the zoned secondaries.
How many properties has Jason Lange sold in Newtown?
36 properties, from my own sale records, counting every title once. Every one is on the results page with its address. See them→
On the market
Most Newtown sales of any agent, last 24 months
homes.co.nz, Newtown real estate agents ranked by most sales in the last 24 months, checked 10 September 2026.
36 properties sold in Newtown. From my own sale records, read 17 September 2026. Sale prices are not published here.
Tell me your street and I will send you your Newtown performance report, with specific sales and data.
“Jason did what he said he would and kept us completely up to-date throughout the process. He achieved the desired outcome achieving slightly more than the asking price in a sluggish market.”
