Free market report · Data to July 2026

Ku-ring-gai property market

Ku-ring-gai is one of the 453 council areas we track on the Momentum Dial, our property clock. This page is the plain-numbers read: where it sits in the cycle, who lives there, what's being built, and the suburbs inside it.

Ku-ring-gai is home to 128,542 people. On the Buyers First Momentum Dial its house market currently reads Rising, while units read Recovering. Same council, different clocks, which is exactly why we track them separately. Worth knowing up front: this is one of the most socio-economically advantaged councils in the country, which shows up in its prices. Here's the rest of the picture, in plain numbers.

Houses · cycle position

Rising

The Ku-ring-gai house market is accelerating. Growth is building pace rather than fading, which is the phase most investors wish they had caught in hindsight.

-6% to +10%

Modelled 12-month price range

+2.0%

Modelled 12-month rent change

Units · cycle position

Recovering

The unit market is still soft, but the rate of decline is easing. Recoveries start exactly here, though not every easing turns into one.

-3% to +7%

Modelled 12-month price range

+2.5%

Modelled 12-month rent change

At a glance · houses

$3,350,303

Typical house, August 2026

+5.7% a year since 2010

+3.8%

Growth a year, last 10 years

+0.7% a year over the last 5

$1,108

Rent a week

1.7% gross yield

4 of 15

Years prices fell since 2010

Worst: 2018, -8%

The clock measures growth momentum, not price. Peak means growing fastest, not about to fall. Cycle data and projections sourced from HtAG Analytics. See Ku-ring-gai on the clock.

Free · One per person

Want all of this written up for Ku-ring-gai?

The full report is this data as a written document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Ku-ring-gai, and the numbers that cut against the area. I write them by hand, so it comes from me rather than out of a system.

Leave your details and I'll get in touch about it myself, by email or phone, usually within one business day. It comes from dan@buyersfirstagency.com.au, and it lands in junk more often than it should, so check there if you don't see it. You'll also go on the Market Pulse mailing list, one email a month on where the market is actually heading. Unsubscribe whenever you like, and I never pass your details to anyone else.

The numbers, explained

Ku-ring-gai in charts.

The typical house in Ku-ring-gai went from $1,338,602 in 2010 to $3,350,303 in August 2026. That is +150% in total, +5.7% a year. 4 down years out of 15, never more than 1 in a row. Cycles, not collapses.

Houses · price change each year · 2011 to 2026

Prices in Ku-ring-gai fell in 4 of the last 15 years

Okay
-1.5% '11 '12 '13 '14 2015 '16 '17 -7.5% '18 '19 20.1% 2020 '21 -3.5% '22 '23 '24 -0.9% 2025 -0.4% '26 ytd

+150%

Since 2010

+3.8%

Per year, last 10 years

4 of 15

Years going backwards

-7.5%

Worst year (2018)

What this shows. How much the typical house price in Ku-ring-gai went up or down each year. Teal bars are up years, red bars are down years, and the faded bar is this year so far.

Why it matters. The size of a good year matters less than how many bad years there were and whether they came in a row. Boring? Absolutely. But the length of the down stretch is what decides whether you get out the other side. Typical price at December each year, data from HtAG Analytics.

You don't need to know property to read this. Every chart below opens with the point in one line, then says what it shows and why we care. Teal is a good sign, amber is okay, red means watch it.

The scorecard · 7 things we check

Ku-ring-gai scores 19 out of 35. Mixed.

Okay
Cycle 4Down years 2Supply 3People 2Jobs 5Affordability 1Rentals 2 5 = best
Where it is in the cycle

prices are rising and speeding up

Years prices fell since 2010

4 of 15 years

New homes being built

2.1 new homes approved per 100 that exist

People moving in

population growing 0.3% a year

Jobs

3.0% unemployed, Australia 4.2%

Can locals afford it

a house costs 17.9 years of a local household's income

Empty rentals

2.5% of rentals are empty, so about 3 in every 100

What this shows. Seven quick checks on Ku-ring-gai, each scored out of five. Five is the reading we most want to see.

Why it matters. No single number tells you whether an area is a good buy. Together they show whether the pieces line up. These are bands, not rules: a council outside a band can still be the right buy for the right person, and one inside every band can still be wrong for you.

House prices since 2010 · Ku-ring-gai vs the 5 most similar councils in NSW

Ku-ring-gai has grown more slowly than similar councils over ten years

Watch this
$916k $1.83m $2.75m $3.67m Ku-ring-gai $3.36m 20102012201420162018202020222024
Ku-ring-gaiSimilar councils (middle of 5)

+0.7% vs +6.7%

A year, last 5 years

+3.8% vs +5.3%

A year, last 10 years

+6.0% vs +7.0%

A year, last 15 years

What this shows. The typical house price in Ku-ring-gai every year, in teal, next to the middle of the five councils in NSW closest to it in size and starting price: Ryde, Randwick, Hornsby, Georges River, Canada Bay. The small "vs" number in each tile is those councils.

Why it matters. Sometimes a slower market is catching up, sometimes it is being passed. The jobs and supply readings on this page tell you which.

Momentum · the last 36 months

Prices in Ku-ring-gai are moving at a steady pace

Okay
$3.10m $3.31m $3.52m 0 168 sold September '23March '24September '24March '25September '25March '26
Last 3 months' priceLast 12 months' priceHouses sold each month

$3,346,185

3-month price, August 2026

-0.3%

3-month price vs 12-month price

1,101 vs 1,399

Houses sold, last 12 months vs the 12 before

What this shows. Two versions of the same price. The dotted teal line averages the last three months, so it reacts fast. The grey line averages the last twelve, so it moves slowly. The bars are how many houses sold each month.

Why it matters. The three-month and twelve-month prices are moving together. No acceleration either way.

New homes · approvals as a share of all the homes here

New homes in Ku-ring-gai are keeping pace with the people

Okay
balanced · 1.5% to 3% a year above this, a lot of building 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 0.9% FY24 · 379 approved 1.2% FY25 · 544 approved 2.1% FY26 · 910 approved · now

What this shows. For every 100 homes already in Ku-ring-gai, how many new ones the council approved each year. The teal band is the range we call balanced.

Why it matters. New homes are arriving at about the pace the population absorbs them. Balanced. The home count is the population divided by the average household size, so treat the rate as a guide rather than a census.

Affordability · house price in years of local household income

A house in Ku-ring-gai costs 17.9 years of a local family's income

Watch this
expensive · over 8 years stretched · 6 to 8 years affordable · under 6 years 17.9 2016 18.2 2017 16.2 2018 15.8 2019 18.3 2020 20.6 2021 19.2 2022 19.7 2023 19.4 2024 18.6 2025 17.9 2026 so far

What this shows. Take the typical house price and divide it by what a typical household here earns in a year. A bar of 7 means seven years of the whole household's income buys one house.

Why it matters. Expensive for the people who live here. Prices at this level need outside buyers to keep moving, and outside buyers are the first to leave when things wobble. Income is the 2021 Census figure carried forward at 3.5% a year, so it is an estimate, not a measurement.

Rents · typical weekly house rent, last 36 months · and how many rentals sit empty

Rent in Ku-ring-gai is $1,108 a week, up 1.9% in a year

Okay
$867 $1021 $1174 $1,108 a week now September '23March '24September '24March '25September '25March '26

$1,108

A week, August 2026

+1.9%

Change in the last year

2.5%

Rentals sitting empty (balanced)

What this shows. What a typical house in Ku-ring-gai rents for each week, month by month. The empty-rentals number is the share of rental homes with nobody in them: under 1.5% is tight, over 3% means tenants have plenty of choice.

Why it matters. Rents are moving with inflation. Steady rather than tight.

Rental yield · a year of rent as a share of the price, Ku-ring-gai vs similar councils

Rent covers 1.7% of the price each year in Ku-ring-gai

1.1% 1.6% 2.2% 202120232025
Ku-ring-gaiSimilar councils

What this shows. Yield is simple: a whole year of rent divided by the house price. A $500,000 house renting for $500 a week earns $26,000 a year, which is a 5.2% yield.

Why it matters. About the same as similar councils. Rent and price are in proportion. We don't buy on yield alone and we never set a yield cut-off; it is one piece of the picture, next to growth.

The people

Who lives in Ku-ring-gai.

Population growth has been close to flat over the last five years, +0.3% a year. Interesting mix underneath: locals have been leaving on net (-3,156 over three years) while overseas migration more than filled the gap (7,753). Worth understanding who is arriving and what housing they need. The median age is 42 and the median household brings in $3,038 a week (Census 2021). 77% of households own or are paying off their home. Owner-occupier markets like this tend to hold their nerve through the cycle, because nobody is forced to sell an address they live at.

Population · ABS estimates 2015 to 2025

Ku-ring-gai has stopped growing: 128,542 people, +0.3% a year

Watch this
121,315 128,542 201520202025

128,542

People, 2025

+0.3% vs +0.6%

A year, last 5 years · typical NSW council

+0.6%

A year, last 10 years

Why it matters. With few new arrivals, demand here comes from locals moving house, not from growth. Prices can still rise, but they lean on other drivers.

Where the growth came from · last 3 years

Overseas arrivals are doing the heavy lifting in Ku-ring-gai: 7,753 in three years

Okay
Births minus deaths
-470
Moved from elsewhere in Australia
-3,156
Moved from overseas
+7,753

Net change: +4,127 people over three years.

What this shows. Three ways a place gains or loses people: babies born minus people who died, people who moved here from another part of Australia, and people who arrived from overseas. Bars to the right add people, bars to the left take them away.

Why it matters. Overseas arrivals usually rent first, so this kind of growth shows up in rents before it shows up in prices.

Age and households · Census 2021

Ku-ring-gai is about the same age as the typical NSW council: median age 42

Typical age
Median age 42 vs 42
People per household 2.9 vs 2.4

Ku-ring-gai Typical NSW council (middle of 122)

Why it matters. A mixed-age area has demand for most housing types, which makes it easier to sell to whoever the next buyer is.

Income and who owns the homes · Census 2021

Most homes in Ku-ring-gai are owner-occupied: 77% own or are paying off, 20% rent

Owner market
Household income a week $3,038 +105% vs typical
Who lives in the homes 77% own · 20% rent

Own or paying off Renting Other

Why it matters. Owner-occupier markets hold their nerve through the cycle, because nobody is forced to sell the address they live at.

New supply

What's being approved to build.

910 dwellings were approved in FY26, 233 of them houses. Approvals are clearly trending up, so more supply is coming. Whether that's a problem depends on whether the population keeps outrunning it. On the non-residential side, $21 million of building was approved in FY26, $2 million of it public money. Governments build where they expect people. Within that, $208 million of education and health buildings have been approved across the last three financial years. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal governments give about where they expect families.

Homes approved · ABS, by financial year

Building in Ku-ring-gai is steady: 910 homes approved in FY26

Okay
FY24
379
FY25
544
FY26
910

Houses Units, townhouses and other

910

Homes approved, FY26

26%

Of them houses

2.1%

New homes per 100 that exist

What this shows. How many new homes the council approved each financial year, split into houses and everything else. Approved is not built, but it is the earliest warning of supply on the way.

Why it matters. Enough building to house the newcomers without flooding the market. Boring is good here.

Non-residential building approved · ABS

Government building spend in Ku-ring-gai has eased: $2m approved in FY26

Okay
FY24
$150m
FY25
$139m
FY26
$21m

Government projects All non-residential

$21m

All sectors, FY26

$2m

Government, FY26

$208m

Schools and health, last 3 years

What this shows. The dollar value of shops, offices, schools, hospitals and other non-home buildings approved each year. The darker bar is the government's share.

Why it matters. Governments build where they expect people. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal they give about where families are heading. For the named projects behind these numbers, ask for the full report.

Jobs

Who's working in Ku-ring-gai.

Work here runs on professional services (18% of jobs), ahead of health care and social assistance and finance. 4,234 more residents are in work than five years ago (+6.9%). Unemployment sits at 3.0%, comfortably under the national 4.2%. On the ABS advantage index this council ranks in the top 10% of the country, which you'll notice in the price tags.

Jobs · SALM, March 2026

4,234 more people in Ku-ring-gai have a job than five years ago

Good sign

65,555

Residents in work

3.0% vs 4.2%

Unemployed · Australia

+6.9%

Jobs change, 5 years

Unemployment rate 3.0% vs 3.4% typical NSW council

Ku-ring-gai Australia

Why it matters. Strong jobs growth shows up in housing demand with a lag. People get the job first and buy the house a year or two later.

Who employs people here · Census 2021

Professional services is the biggest employer in Ku-ring-gai, 18% of jobs

Advantage 10 of 10
Professional services
18%
Health care and social assistance
14%
Finance
11%
Education and training
10%
Retail trade
7%

What this shows. The five industries that employ the most residents, as a share of all jobs. The pill is the ABS advantage score: Ku-ring-gai sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally, where 10 is the most advantaged.

Why it matters. A spread of employers means no single closure can empty the town. That is the kind of job base that holds house prices through a downturn.

The outlook

Is Ku-ring-gai worth buying into?

The strongest thing the data says for Ku-ring-gai is a job base that has expanded. None of this guarantees anything. It tells you where to look harder, which is what a report like this is for.

Free · Written by hand · One per person

This page is the public data. The full report is that written up as a document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Ku-ring-gai. One per person.

Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.

Leave your details and I'll get in touch about it myself, by email or phone, usually within one business day. It comes from dan@buyersfirstagency.com.au, and it lands in junk more often than it should, so check there if you don't see it. You'll also go on the Market Pulse mailing list, one email a month on where the market is actually heading. Unsubscribe whenever you like, and I never pass your details to anyone else.

Inside the LGA

The suburbs of Ku-ring-gai.

Next step. See what's for sale in Gordon on realestate.com.au or Domain. Then send me the address before you make an offer. That is the part the data cannot do.

All 17 suburbs and localities in Ku-ring-gai

East Killara · East Lindfield · Gordon · Killara · Lindfield · North Turramurra · North Wahroonga · Pymble · Roseville · Roseville Chase · South Turramurra · St Ives · St Ives Chase · Turramurra · Wahroonga · Warrawee · West Pymble

Free · Written by hand · One per person

Want the full workup on Ku-ring-gai?

This page is the public data. The full report is the written workup: current price, rent, gross yield and vacancy, growth over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years, days on market and demand, and the supply coming down the pipe, for Ku-ring-gai or any suburb in it. Same data we run for clients. I pull it and email it through, usually within a business day. One per person, no charge, and no 14-part email sequence afterwards. All I ask is that if it lands, you take the fifteen minute call at the end of it.

Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.

Leave your details and I'll get in touch about it myself, by email or phone, usually within one business day. It comes from dan@buyersfirstagency.com.au, and it lands in junk more often than it should, so check there if you don't see it. You'll also go on the Market Pulse mailing list, one email a month on where the market is actually heading. Unsubscribe whenever you like, and I never pass your details to anyone else.

Keep comparing

Markets of a similar size in NSW.

A council only makes sense in context. These are the NSW markets closest to Ku-ring-gai in population, each with its own written report.

General information only, not financial or investment advice. Cycle positions and projections are modelled LGA-level figures to July 2026, sourced from HtAG Analytics. Population and approvals are ABS estimates; employment is SALM smoothed data; income, age and tenure are Census 2021. None of it can see street quality, flood maps, zoning or the contract, which is where deals are actually won and lost. Get advice on your own situation before acting.

Data finds the area. It doesn't buy the house.

We narrow 15,000 suburbs to the top 5 for each client, then find the street and the property. If Ku-ring-gai is on your list, that's a conversation worth having early.

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