Buying guide
The best suburbs in Christchurch to buy: Beckenham
Is Beckenham beckoning?
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Beckenham takes the final spot in our list of the most searched Christchurch suburbs on Trade Me Property so far in 2024.
We’ve been exploring some of the most popular Christchurch suburbs due to the increase in demand for homes in the Garden City that we’ve seen over the last wee while. This is borne out in the growing property prices in the city, with our April Property Price Index, showing that the cost of a home in Christchurch had increased 4% year-on-year, reaching an average asking price of $711,450 in March 2024.
We hope that this series has been helpful for those considering buying property in Christchurch, and has helped show off the best of this awesome city. So, with that in mind, let’s explore our final suburb: Beckenham.
Beckenham, Christchurch: key info
Beckenham is one of the so-called “Tramway suburbs”, as it was the introduction of Christchurch’s tram system in the early 1900s that allowed this suburb to start developing rapidly. The trams made it easier for people to live further out from the city centre, and enjoy the benefits of open green spaces (see below), while also enjoying a straight forward commute into work.
Today, Beckenham is home to a population of a community of 2,430 people, and has a population density of 2,761 people per square kilometre.
Why do people want to buy homes in Beckenham, Christchurch?
1. Access to nature and the city
Like neighbouring Cashmere, Bekenham strikes a great balance between proximity to nature and ease of access into central Christchurch.
The suburb is in the lee of the Port Hills, with a plethora of walking and mountain biking tracks just a stone’s throw from residential areas. Once you go over these hills, you find yourself looking down into the picturesque Lyttelton Harbour, where you can enjoy a wide variety of water-based activities, from swimming and kayaking to fishing and sailing.
If you don’t fancy the drive through the hills, Beckenham is also conveniently located for Sumner Beach, one of Christchurch’s most popular seaside hangouts. From Beckneham, you can expect this drive to take you about 15 - 25 minutes, according to Google maps.
At the same time, you’re only 3 km from Christchurch city centre. This means, if you’re driving into work on a Monday morning, you can expect the commute to only take 10 - 20 minutes if you’re driving, 18 minutes if you’re cycling or about half an hour on public transport.
2. Education opportunities
Families with children of all ages will be impressed with the range of educational institutions on offer in and around the Beckenham area. Among the facilities on your doorstep are:
- Cherry’s Early Learning Centre
- Buttercups Preschool Huntsbury
- Thorrington Primary School
- Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto
- Cashmere High School
- St Peter’s School
- Somerfield School
- Huntsbury Preschool
- St Martins School
- Christchurch South Intermediate
3. Sports and community clubs
Got a competitive gene and some energy to burn off? You’ll find Beckenham is well served for sports clubs, with a good emphasis on socialising too.
Among your options are the Beckenham Tennis Club, located in picturesque Beckenham Park, the Beckenham Bowling Club and Bumble Bees Swim School, if you’re keen to get the tamariki confident in the water from an early age.
If you’re looking for non-sport activities for the kids, be sure to check out Sandwich Road Little Free Library for Kids. This pretty much does what it says on the tin, and you’ll always find a great selection of books for the little people in your life to get stuck into.
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