Where to find the cheapest streets in Sydney’s most expensive suburbs

How much does it cost to live in Bellevue Hill? On some streets, the median house value is as high as $18 million, but there are other pockets where typical house prices are a little less eye-watering at around the $4 million mark.

The most expensive and most affordable pockets of Sydney’s most expensive suburbs have been revealed in granular new data from CoreLogic that shows how far price points can vary within a postcode.

Trophy homes with gun barrel views can sell for up to $55 million in Rose Bay.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Bellevue Hill and the trio of prestige suburbs Rose Bay, Vaucluse and Watsons Bay all offer a different lifestyle and cater to specific buyers. But there is one common factor: the closer to the water, the higher the price tag.

Buyers may have to purchase along a busy main road or forgo a view entirely for an entry-level property.

Although Point Piper is Sydney’s undisputed king of prestige property, the suburb is excluded from the research due to limited sales volumes and the challenge of assessing value for such singular homes.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said estimating the individual value of high-end homes is difficult as they are so unique.

“Variability in price is likely down to location,” he said.

“Harbourfront commands a much higher premium, whereas lower down on the spectrum, there will be areas with higher density. Homes are further from the water, closer to major roads and busy thoroughfares.”

Homes around Cranbrook Senior School, Kambala Road and Victoria Road in Bellevue Hill, command a median house value of $18,232,593, on CoreLogic data, while an entry-level just south of Cooper Park is a cheaper $4,166,913.

Units are more affordable at $3,382,422 on the high end and $1,406,612 on the lower.

Watsons Bay, an exclusive enclave with a village feel, could set a buyer back around $8,697,553 for a house near Camp Cove or Marine Parade. But entry-level units have a median value of $1,607,216, on CoreLogic data.

Advantage Buyers Agents’ Sam Green said each suburb on the east is highly regarded for different reasons.

“Schools play a big part in where people want to raise their kids, and as people trade up and down, it’s all about access to the city and views,” he said.

Green said Bellevue Hill is popular for its large landholdings near the city.

The median house value for homes around Nielsen Park and Vaucluse Park is $13.5 million, on CoreLogic data.Credit: Edwina Pickles

“There are some busy roads along Old South Head Road where you can get much cheaper homes. Your $4 million entry-level is probably going to be a semi on small land with no view.”

Green said the average doctor or lawyer is priced out of that top end of the market.“Unless they’re very senior lawyers or doctors. We’re talking $18 million-plus for some of these homes.”

Biller Property’s Paul Biller said properties in Rose Bay, known for cafe culture and celebrity haunt Catalina, range from $1 million units to a $55 million trophy home with gun barrel views.

Houses sell from $3.5 million for an entry-level semi on about 250 square metres, on less attractive streets such as Chaleyer and Onslow.

“It’s not that tightly held, unlike Point Piper ,” Biller said.

“However, the premium streets with waterfront addresses such as Tivoli Avenue, Dumaresq Road and Collins Avenue, are tightly held.”

Biller said Rose Bay offers a different lifestyle to Bellevue Hill.

“To some buyers, they would look at Rose Bay as Bellevue Hill’s poor cousin. However, there are plenty of buyers who would prefer Rose Bay as it has a village, it’s all level and flat,” he said, such as downsizers from Vaucluse or Bellevue Hill.

Rose Bay’s flat level and village vibe is attractive to downsizers from Vaucluse and Bellevue Hill.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Highland Property Double Bay’s David Malouf sold a freestanding house in MacDonald Street, Vaucluse, last year for $6.6 million.

“That’s probably the most affordable pocket in Vaucluse just near the cemetery, and that’s a brand-new four-bedroom home,” he said.

Malouf has listed a home on Wentworth Road guiding $57 million, and he said Coolong Road could achieve $100 million-plus.

”Once you’re there you stay. There are many buyers at entry level where the end goal is to have a view. It’s the $6 million house that takes them to $10 million and so on,” he said.

Founder of The Rubinstein Group Gavin Rubinstein said Watsons Bay is not a bridesmaid suburb to Vaucluse.

“It has its own little ecosystem because it’s so sought after,” he said.

“Many locals continue to buy up, whether for themselves or their kids, and expats and overseas buyers love the idea of that exclusive lifestyle.”

Marine Parade in Watsons Bay is highly regarded; homes have a median house value of $8.6 million, on CoreLogic data.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Rubinstein said proximity to secluded beach Camp Cove made the suburb unique.

“Camp Cove is the mecca where a property sold for $33 million. If it’s got that proximity to the beach or that view, people pay big dollars.”

Rubinstein said an entry-level home could cost about $6.5 million and land costs a premium.

“The average block size is around 400 square metres, so there’s not that much of it.”