FinSavvy Finance · 4 Kamilaroy Rd, West Pymble NSW · https://finsavvyfinance.com.au/research/north-shore-rent-vs-buy/
Research
Renting vs buying on the North Shore, by postcode
What a North Shore home earns in rent, and what it costs each month to buy instead of rent, for every postcode where the NSW Government publishes both a median price and a median rent.
Key findings
- North Shore houses return 1.9% to 2.4% a year in gross rent across the 9 postcodes with both a median price and a median rent. Units return 2.8% to 4.9% across 10 postcodes.
- With a 20% deposit at 6.48%, the monthly repayment on a median house costs 2.5× to 3.2× the median rent for a house in the same postcode. For units the gap narrows to 1.2× to 2.2×.
- Over the eight years to 2026, unit rents grew faster than unit prices in 7 of the 8 postcodes where DCJ published both. House prices outgrew house rents in 6 of 7.
- None of these postcodes makes buying cheaper than renting month to month at today's rates. What buying gets you instead is the equity and price growth, and the monthly gap you fund to get them is wider for a house than for a unit.
Gross rental yield by postcode
A year of median rent divided by the median sale price, before strata, rates, insurance and vacancy. Prices are DCJ medians for March 2026 and rents are new-bond medians for June 20261. A postcode appears only where DCJ counted more than 30 sales and 30 new bonds that quarter.
Buying against renting, per month
The monthly principal-and-interest repayment on 80% of the median price over 30 years, divided by the median rent as a monthly figure. The rate is 6.48%: the RBA’s average variable rate on new owner-occupier loans3 plus the cash rate moves since4. At 1× buying and renting cost the same each month; the line marks it.
Houses: the figures
| Postcode | Suburbs | Median price | Sales | Weekly rent | New bonds | Gross yield | Repayment / month | Rent / month | Repayment ÷ rent | Price growth a year | Rent growth a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2077 | Asquith, Hornsby, Hornsby Heights, Waitara | $1,931,000 | 43 | $890 | 81 | 2.40% | $9,744 | $3,857 | 2.5× | – | 3.8% |
| 2075 | St Ives, St Ives Chase | $3,000,000 | 45 | $1,350 | 47 | 2.34% | $15,138 | $5,850 | 2.6× | 5.3% | 2.9% |
| 2076 | Normanhurst, North Wahroonga, Wahroonga | $2,400,000 | 43 | $1,075 | 58 | 2.33% | $12,110 | $4,658 | 2.6× | 4.1% | 2.5% |
| 2068 | Castlecrag, Middle Cove, North Willoughby, Willoughby, Willoughby East | $3,600,000 | 33 | $1,525 | 44 | 2.20% | $18,166 | $6,608 | 2.7× | – | 5.4% |
| 2073 | Pymble, West Pymble | $3,241,000 | 38 | $1,350 | 48 | 2.17% | $16,354 | $5,850 | 2.8× | 5.9% | 4.5% |
| 2074 | North Turramurra, South Turramurra, Turramurra, Warrawee | $3,263,000 | 46 | $1,280 | 50 | 2.04% | $16,465 | $5,547 | 3.0× | 6.3% | 4.1% |
| 2066 | Lane Cove, Lane Cove North, Lane Cove West, Linley Point, Longueville, Northwood, Riverview | $3,425,000 | 46 | $1,300 | 43 | 1.97% | $17,283 | $5,633 | 3.1× | 5.8% | 3.9% |
| 2065 | Crows Nest, Greenwich, Naremburn, St Leonards, Wollstonecraft | $3,500,000 | 34 | $1,300 | 46 | 1.93% | $17,661 | $5,633 | 3.1× | 2.9% | 4.7% |
| 2088 | Mosman | $5,730,000 | 36 | $2,100 | 56 | 1.91% | $28,914 | $9,100 | 3.2× | 6.7% | 3.7% |
Units: the figures
| Postcode | Suburbs | Median price | Sales | Weekly rent | New bonds | Gross yield | Repayment / month | Rent / month | Repayment ÷ rent | Price growth a year | Rent growth a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2077 | Asquith, Hornsby, Hornsby Heights, Waitara | $750,000 | 149 | $700 | 281 | 4.85% | $3,785 | $3,033 | 1.2× | 1.5% | 4.3% |
| 2066 | Lane Cove, Lane Cove North, Lane Cove West, Linley Point, Longueville, Northwood, Riverview | $938,000 | 135 | $770 | 268 | 4.27% | $4,733 | $3,337 | 1.4× | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| 2064 | Artarmon | $1,085,000 | 32 | $800 | 81 | 3.83% | $5,475 | $3,467 | 1.6× | – | 3.7% |
| 2067 | Chatswood, Chatswood West | $1,160,000 | 47 | $850 | 347 | 3.81% | $5,853 | $3,683 | 1.6× | 1.3% | 4.5% |
| 2065 | Crows Nest, Greenwich, Naremburn, St Leonards, Wollstonecraft | $1,260,000 | 153 | $875 | 556 | 3.61% | $6,358 | $3,792 | 1.7× | 3.4% | 4.6% |
| 2088 | Mosman | $1,250,000 | 94 | $820 | 205 | 3.41% | $6,308 | $3,553 | 1.8× | 2.4% | 4.0% |
| 2060 | Lavender Bay, McMahons Point, North Sydney, Waverton | $1,260,000 | 98 | $800 | 309 | 3.30% | $6,358 | $3,467 | 1.8× | 1.7% | 3.2% |
| 2089 | Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay | $1,270,000 | 54 | $805 | 194 | 3.30% | $6,408 | $3,488 | 1.8× | 0.6% | 4.2% |
| 2090 | Cremorne, Cremorne Point | $1,625,000 | 55 | $898 | 160 | 2.87% | $8,200 | $3,891 | 2.1× | 5.3% | 4.1% |
| 2068 | Castlecrag, Middle Cove, North Willoughby, Willoughby, Willoughby East | $1,430,000 | 36 | $760 | 65 | 2.76% | $7,216 | $3,293 | 2.2× | – | 3.6% |
How we worked it out
The North Shore here means postcodes 2060 to 2077 and 2088 to 2090. Suburb names come from the ABS, matched to each postcode2, so suburbs sharing a postcode share its figures. “House” is DCJ’s non-strata sales and house rents; “unit” is strata sales and flat or unit rents. Growth figures are compound annual changes over the eight years from DCJ’s same quarter in 2018, and appear only where DCJ published both ends.
A monthly comparison leaves things out on both sides. Buying also costs the deposit’s forgone interest, stamp duty, council rates, strata and maintenance, and it builds equity as the loan is paid down. Renting costs rent increases and moving. To run your own numbers with those included, use the rent vs buy property calculator, which reads the same data.
Sources
- NSW Department of Communities and Justice, Rent and Sales Report: sale prices for January to March 2026 and new-bond weekly rents for April to June 2026, by postcode. dcj.nsw.gov.au ↩
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, ASGS Edition 3 allocation files (Suburbs and Localities, Postal Areas), used to name the suburbs in each postcode. abs.gov.au ↩
- Reserve Bank of Australia, statistical table F6: average variable rate on new owner-occupier loans, August 2026 (6.23%). rba.gov.au ↩
- Reserve Bank of Australia, cash rate target decisions since that month, added to the F6 rate. rba.gov.au ↩
General information only, not financial advice. Medians describe a postcode, not any particular property. You may reuse these figures with a link to this page.