Building a new home in Leigh.

Coastal land, real slope, and services you should check

Leigh sections are generally large and generally sloped, running down toward the harbour, Matheson Bay or the open coast. Slope buys you the view and costs you in earthworks, retaining and driveway, and on a steep site those three items together can be the difference between two comparable plans.

Servicing is the other question to ask early. Parts of the village are reticulated and parts are not, so a section may need tank water, an on-site wastewater system, or both. None of that is unusual in this part of Rodney, and all of it is straightforward when it is designed and budgeted at the start rather than discovered at consent.

• Large sections, frequently sloped, with harbour or open-coast outlook
• Earthworks, retaining and driveway are the real variables in a Leigh budget
• Tank water and on-site wastewater are common outside the reticulated streets
• Exposed coastal sites carry a higher corrosion specification

Living there: Goat Island, the wharf and the Sawmill

Goat Island, properly the Cape Rodney to Okakari Point Marine Reserve, is five minutes from the village and was the first marine reserve in the country. Matheson Bay is a sheltered swimming beach on the other side, the wharf still lands fish, and the Leigh Sawmill has been putting on live music for decades. The university's marine laboratory sits above the reserve, which gives the village a scientific streak most fishing towns do not have.

It is small. The nearest supermarket is Matakana or Warkworth, the college is in Warkworth, and you will drive for most things beyond a coffee and the shop. People who move to Leigh know that and choose it anyway, which tells you most of what you need to know about the place.

What it costs, and what it is worth

The median sale price in Leigh over the last twelve months is about $1,250,000, and average property values in the area have moved roughly 40.4% over the past six years. Note that the growth window here is six years rather than the five we quote elsewhere: that is what the index publishes for Leigh, and stretching it to match the other suburbs would misrepresent it.

Median advertised rent is around $600 a week across all property types and sizes, which is modest against the sale price. Leigh is a lifestyle and holiday market more than a rental one, so buy it for the living rather than the yield.