Castlecrag is an affluent harbourside suburb of Sydney. It is situated in the Lower North Shore, 8km from the CBD in the City of Willoughby Local Government Area.
Castlecrag name comes from the crag on the rock overlooking Middle Harbour and is also known as Edinburgh Castle. It is situated on three steep peninsulas surrounded by Middle Harbour, Northbridge, Middle Cove, Willoughby & Seaforth across the water.
Castlecrag is in a rather wealthy pocket of the known wealthy Sydney North Shore, and it has been for many years. Most residents live a fairly exclusive lifestyle alike to neighbouring suburbs.
Alike to many of the other Lower North Shore Suburbs, Castlecrag is regularly rated as a top 50 most liveable suburb in Sydney due to its proximity to the CBD, open space, and facilities for the resident population.
Lifestyle
Middle Harbour is possibly Sydney’s most unknown beautiful waterway. Sailors Bay, Sugarloaf Creek, Peach Tree Bay & Figtree Cove all give Castlecrag some of the finest natural views in Sydney. Due to this and the green nature of the suburb, there are many walking tracks down towards the water. Many residents use these to exercise and as a social activity.
Beverley Blacklock Reserve, Linden Way Reserve, Stoker Playground & Warners Park are all popular local activity centres where many of the locals young tend to play. Many also do this in the rather large dwellings that tend to exist in the suburb.
Willoughby Park, Shore, Northbridge Oval & North Sydney Oval are all top class level sporting facilities that are nearby. Soccer, Rugby & Cricket are all common sports played in these facilities.
Water sports, particularly sailing is fairly popular amongst the middle aged demographic, as Castlecrag has its own Marina in Sailors Bay. There is also rather good boat ramps nearby in Northbridge at Tunks Park and at Roseville Bridge.
Many residents shop local at the small section of shops that lie near the intersection of Edinburgh Road & Eastern Valley Way. Many homes within Castlecrag also have wine cellars and bars, as seen in a photo below.
School Zones
Alike to many other North Shore Suburbs, some of the best schools in Sydney are very close by to Castlecrag.
Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore) & Pymble Ladies College are the more prestigious schools that are quite common for many students to attend and are only nearby in Northbridge & Pymble.
Willoughby Public School, Northbridge Public School & Castlecrag Montessori School also are all nearby for the younger residents.
Although many students attend prestigious private schools, Public High Schools are nearby. Cammeraygal High School, Chatswood High School & Willoughby Girls are all within 10 minutes.
Aspect Vern Barnett School is across Roseville Bridge, about 15 minutes away in Forestville and serves students of special needs.
Demographics
Castlecrag is a rather affluent neighbourhood, one of the most affluent in Australia. The median household income is over 2.5x the average state and national income at $4,675 per week.
This position is strengthened by Castlecrag having a high household composition of families and two working incomes. Also, there is an older established family demographic here, rather than a younger working family. Being a prestigious suburb close to well renown schools, Castlecrag has become a suburb in demand from international migrants. This is particularly true for many migrants from England, China, Hong Kong & South Africa in recent decades, now making up over 20% of the population.
Castlecrag is nearly an entirely owner occupier suburb, with close to 90% of the suburb being owner occupiers. Within these statistics, nearly 50% of people own their homes completely outright, with the other 40 having very low LVRs in comparison to the above $4 million suburb median.
Employment
Professionals make up more than 70% of the Castlecrag population, many in extremely high paying industries. There is a rather high percentage of people working in Finance & Law in Castlecrag, making up more than 12% of the entire workforce.
Doctors & IT Specialists are also common as are business owners. It should be noted that nearly 60% of Castlecrag residents work from home, nearly double the national average. Transport
Many residents in Castlecrag do not use public transport but rather private transport. It is a suburb where many residents own Mercedes, BMW, Audi & other luxury vehicles which they use to commute.
Many residents who commute are the younger residents of the suburb, where buses run from Edinburgh Road towards Chatswood and the CBD.
Shopping Centre's, Restaurants & Facilities
The main shopping village in Castlecrag is towards the Edinburgh Road & Eastern Valley Way intersection, and there are a small number of cafes & restaurants here.
Most residents use Westfield Chatswood for their general shopping activities. However, as an affluent suburb, many residents enjoy the boutique stores that are found on Military Road from Neutral Bay to Mosman, and further down Bradleys Head Road. Some residents travel into the city to find their own shopping too.
Outdoor sporting activities are common throughout Castlecrag in the neighbouring suburbs nearby, as are gyms that can be found also in the neighbouring postcodes. Many residents however have incredible home work out set up and pools which they use for exercise without a commute.
Development
Castlecrag is almost entirely detached houses on large blocks, in fact close to 98% of the suburb is strictly low residential dwellings.
Development therefore in the suburb is mainly centred around trophy homes and high end upgrades to interiors. In the shopping village there is a very small section of attached dwellings, however this in very insignificant. Residents enjoy the open space and are known to be quite anti-development in terms of density. Castlecrag is known as a trophy home suburb, particularly towards Sugarloaf Point & Middle Harbour.
Capital Growth
No supply, a very high owner occupier appeal, trophy homes, low density and a very high income demographic make Castlecrag one of Sydney’s best suburbs for capital growth.
Consistently, since 1900 houses have averaged over 8.5% capital growth year on year, with some averaging over 10% close to the water. Castlecrag however performs quite well around the suburb, off the main roads.
There is simply not enough units and townhouses for statistics on capital growth in Castlecrag.
Cash Flow
As a very expensive suburb, Castlecrag averages yields between 2-2.2%, this however is attributed to a very high income demographic and price growth over hundreds of years. Rents generally increases between 3-4% year on year. Rents 5-6 years ago were closer to the $1,100 per week mark but tend to average around $1,600 per week as of 2023. This provides owners with a lot of excess cash flow and equity if held over a longer time period.
Rental Demand
Trying to find a dwelling in Castlecrag can take months at times. Only around 10% of the suburb is tenantable, as nearly 90% is solely owner occupiers.
Often vacancy rates can be anywhere between 0.5-2%, though this measure is taken from an extremely small data set meaning it may be considered insignificant.
People seeking a lease are best to get in touch with agents, as it is more a market for working high income earners with families. Often it is very common for households to live in Castlecrag for years while their children attend the prestigious private schools nearby.
Why You Require a Buyers Agent in Castlecrag
The Lower North Shore is one of the most difficult markets in Australia to break into due to the exclusive nature, very low stock levels and high demand from a wealthy income demographic.
It should be noted that some dwellings and lots in Castlecrag have not been sold for over 150 years and have remained in the same family. This is a very common feature of the Lower North Shore, with many families actually being direct relatives of early settlers in many of the suburbs such as Mosman, Cammeray, Northbridge & Castlecrag.
Alike to the Upper Eastern Suburbs, much of the Lower North Shore is sold strictly off market, and there are requisite requirements that prospective buyers must meet.
It is also a market where price matters as does your strategy. It is very common to see agents speaking different languages or to others bidding from overseas to successful purchase into the suburb. For inexperienced purchasers, this is extremely daunting and can become quite stressful.
Having someone in your corner who understands the dynamics and fundamentals of the Lower North Shore markets is critical as this is a part of the market where relationships and knowledge matter. This will likely save you hundreds of thousands in the short run and make you millions in the decades to come.
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