Do The Numbers Truly Add Up? A Deeper Look At The Woollahra Edgecliff Rezoning

When we picture Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, the image is often one of grand homes in Woollahra, Federation properties in Randwick, terraces around Paddington and prestigious houses overlooking Sydney Harbour.

But the statistics tell another story.

Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs are already some of the most densely housed parts of metropolitan Sydney, with apartments making up the majority of occupied dwellings across several key local government areas.

As Sydney debates increased housing density, new apartment developments and planning reforms, it is worth understanding just how established higher-density living already is across the east, and what another significant increase in apartment supply could mean for buyers, property values, affordability and access to finance.

Waverley: Almost Two Thirds Apartment Living

According to the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, 64.1% of occupied private dwellings in the Waverley local government area were flats or apartments.

Only 16% were separate houses.

That means suburbs including Bondi, Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction and surrounding areas already have a housing profile overwhelmingly weighted towards apartments and attached living.

It also places Waverley significantly ahead of many parts of Greater Sydney when it comes to apartment living.

Woollahra May Surprise You

The Woollahra LGA presents an equally interesting picture.

Despite being synonymous with some of Sydney’s most valuable detached homes, 55.6% of occupied dwellings were flats or apartments at the 2021 Census.

Only 22.3% were separate houses, while approximately another 21% were semi-detached homes, terraces or townhouses.

In other words, around three quarters of Woollahra’s occupied housing was already some form of attached or apartment-style accommodation.

That is significant when considering current discussions around increasing housing density in the Eastern Suburbs.

Randwick Tells a Similar Story

Randwick recorded 55.5% of occupied dwellings as flats or apartments, while 26.8% were separate houses.

Another 16.7% were semi-detached properties, terraces or townhouses.

Compare that with Ku-ring-gai on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, where apartments accounted for around 27.1% of occupied dwellings, or Blacktown, where the figure was just 6.7%.

Even Parramatta, one of Sydney’s major metropolitan centres, recorded approximately 47.3% apartment living across its LGA.

The Eastern Suburbs are therefore not approaching density from a traditional low-density starting point. Much of the region is already highly urbanised.

Smaller Homes Are Already Part of the Market

The number of bedrooms provides another interesting insight.

In Waverley, approximately 57% of occupied dwellings had only one or two bedrooms at the 2021 Census.

In Woollahra, around 45% fell into the same one or two-bedroom category.

This existing concentration of smaller properties has important implications for future housing.

If population growth continues, the question is not simply whether the Eastern Suburbs should accommodate greater density. It is also what type of housing should be delivered.

Do we need more one-bedroom apartments, or is there an increasing need for larger apartments suitable for families, downsizers and long-term owner-occupiers?

 Could Concentration Risk Affect Apartment Finance?

When a large number of similar apartments are delivered within a concentrated area, lenders and Lenders Mortgage Insurers can consider their exposure to a particular building, development or market.

This is commonly referred to as concentration risk.

Importantly, Lenders Mortgage Insurance, or LMI, protects the lender, not the borrower, against certain losses if the borrower defaults and the sale of the property does not recover the outstanding debt.

Mortgage insurers can apply LVR and concentration restrictions to individual developments, particularly where they consider their exposure to a building or market to be too high.

That does not mean every apartment in a high density area will be difficult to finance.

However, if LMI is unavailable for a particular property or development, obtaining a loan above an 80% Loan-to-Value Ratio may become more difficult. In practical terms, some purchasers may need to contribute at least a 20% deposit, plus stamp duty and other acquisition costs.

What Does That Look Like on a $3 Million Apartment?

Consider a buyer purchasing a $3 million apartment in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.

If the lender requires the purchaser to remain at an 80% LVR, the numbers could look approximately like this:

Purchase price: $3,000,000
20% deposit: $600,000
Loan required: $2,400,000
NSW transfer duty: approximately $146,000
Cash required before other costs: approximately $746,000

That is before legal fees, conveyancing, inspections, finance costs and other acquisition expenses.

Suddenly, the purchaser needs close to three quarters of a million dollars in available funds simply to complete the purchase.

What Income Might You Need to Buy a $3 Million Apartment?

The buyer also needs to demonstrate that they can service a $2.4 million mortgage.

APRA currently requires regulated lenders to assess new residential borrowers using an interest rate at least 3 percentage points above the actual loan rate. (apra.gov.au)

If a borrower's actual mortgage rate were around 6.4%, for example, the lender could assess their capacity to service the debt at approximately 9.4%.

Depending on existing debts, expenses, dependants and other financial commitments, a household seeking a $2.4 million loan could realistically require a combined gross income in the vicinity of $500,000 to $550,000 per annum, potentially more.

That is not a universal lending threshold. Individual borrowing capacity varies considerably between lenders and borrowers.

But it illustrates the scale of income potentially required.

How Many Australians Actually Earn $500,000?

This is where the affordability question becomes particularly interesting.

The latest ATO Taxation Statistics for 2023-24 indicate that the threshold to enter the top 1% of Australian income taxpayers was approximately $429,500 in taxable income.

With around 13.2 million Australians paying income tax, fewer than approximately 132,000 individual taxpayers nationally would sit above the $500,000 income level. The precise number earning more than $500,000 is not separately published, so the important point is that an individual earning $500,000 is within less than 1% of Australian income taxpayers.

ABS employee earnings data provides further context. Median employee earnings were $1,425 per week in August 2025, equivalent to approximately $74,100 annualised. At the 90th percentile, employee earnings were $3,000 per week, or approximately $156,000 annualised. (abs.gov.au)

Density Is Not New to the Eastern Suburbs

The debate around housing density in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs will continue, particularly as governments look for ways to accommodate population growth and improve housing affordability.

But the existing numbers provide useful perspective.

Waverley, Woollahra and Randwick are already predominantly apartment and attached home markets.

Understanding future supply, planning changes, lender appetite, concentration risk, valuation risk and the characteristics that create genuine scarcity can be equally important.

At Morish Buyers Agency, understanding what surrounds a property today is important.

Understanding what could surround it tomorrow can be even more valuable.