Rozelle is a harbourside suburb, located in the Inner West Council of Sydney, 4km west of the CBD. Located between both Lilyfield and Balmain, Rozelle is also surrounded by Rozelle Bay, White Bay & the Parramatta River.
One of the oldest suburbs in Australia, Rozelle dates back to 1870, whereby the population of neighbouring Balmain increased to a level where residents needed to move west to the new Balmain West suburb, declared as Rozelle in 1892.
Rozelle today is known as one of most walkable and livable suburbs in all of Sydney. Darling Street & Victoria Road both hold great amenities and have a very village feel, which makes the suburb high in many buyers list both nationally and internationally.
Lifestyle
Residents of Rozelle enjoy a fantastic lifestyle. The renown ‘Bay Run’ runs along the south western pocket of the suburb, past Callan Park & King George Park. This provides residents with a great safe activity centre for people of all ages.
Easton Park also is within the suburb as is Balmain Road Sporting Ground. Sports of all levels are played here from Cricket to Rugby to Soccer and other sports. Bridgewater Park towards the Balmain peninsula is also a great place for kids to play in open space.
Surrounded by Marinas, sailing and water sports are also very common in Rozelle. Some of the largest vessels in Australia are moored in Rozelle & White Bay.
Many locals also enjoy a lifestyle of walking throughout the suburb. Dog walking is extremely common towards the Heritage Listed Old Power Station on the Parramatta River side of the suburb. Also popular is walking amongst the many shops, restaurants and eateries that the suburb has to offer towards Victoria Road & Darling Street.
In terms of exercise, there are many gyms and fitness clubs that are present within the suburb. This is common in Rozelle from all levels to elite strength training to Mums fitness classes.
School Zones
Many of the professionals send their children to Newington College in Stanmore, Trinity in Summer Hill, Presbyterian Ladies College in Croydon or International Grammar School in Ultimo.
The most common Secondary School for parents to send their children to is Sydney Secondary College at both Balmain & Blackwattle Bay.
Rozelle Public School serves the local younger residents as a Public Primary School and is easily walkable within many parts of the suburb.
Bridge Road School is a school of special needs located at nearby Camperdown, within 5 minutes of Rozelle.
Demographics
A long time ago, Rozelle was a very working class suburb (pre-2000), however since it has continued to be a wealthy established suburb of Sydney.
Being close to the Sydney CBD, much of the suburb is employed as professionals, over 70%, well above the state and national average. The median household income of Rozelle is $3,196, nearly double the state and national average. The level of income increases is well above the averages as well, as many residents sit within the lowest risk of being unemployed industries.
Consistent throughout the Balmain peninsula, many residents like to take great care of their dwellings, spending thousands of dollars annually on maintenance and updating fixtures and fittings to ensure a houseproud feel to their suburb.
Employment
High end professional services are the main employer of residents in Rozelle. Over 15% of residents are employed in IT, Banking, Healthcare, Legal Services or Finance & Investment Services.
Many of the residents hold management positions in these fields as well, with incomes increasing over time steadily. Working from home is common through many of the professionals in the suburb, with a very easy commute for days in the office.
Rozelle in recent years has had the level of income and professionals within the suburb increase to levels of that similar to the North Shore & Upper Eastern Suburbs, previously not seen in the Inner West.
Prices in recent decades have surged to above $2 million, comparable to some locations within the Northern Beaches & Upper North Shore. This still remains an extremely attractive option for professionals within Sydney.
Transport
Rozelle is an extremely walkable suburb, one of the best in fact with a walk score of 84/100. Many residents have only a single vehicle due to this, with only one person per household driving to work, the rest commuting.
Many residents of professional services in Rozelle work from home for a portion of the week, then commute via public transport for days required at the office.
Luckily, Rozelle is a great suburb for transport. Throughout the entire suburb runs bus lines to the CBD, which usually take under 10 minutes. Other lines run to other parts of the Inner West.
In the southern part of the suburb, Rozelle Bay light rail station is also a viable option for connections to the CBD, getting residents to Central in under 15 minutes.
Ferry Transport to Circular Quay is also popular for those who commute down to Birchgrove & Balmain East Ferry Terminals.
Cycling is also extremely popular as many employment hubs such as the CBD, Burwood & Camperdown lie less than a half an hour cycle away.
Shopping Centre's, Restaurants & Facilities
Rozelle is one of the best suburbs in Sydney for facilities; it has a great shopping district, great access to the CBD and great restaurants.
Darling Street & Victoria Road hold a great array of local restaurants and specialist cuisine. There are many upmarket restaurants that also line the suburb, with renown chefs recognising the suburb.
Birkenhead Point is straight across the bay, at Drummoyne and is a well known location for many Sydney residents to do their shopping. Darling Street in towards Balmain also holds a high street feel with many boutique brands.
There is a few aged care and retirement living centres in both Rozelle and nearby Balmain. Balmain Hospital and Royal Prince Alfred employ much of the suburb and have specialist care for many residents of Rozelle.
Development
Rozelle is a suburb of mixed low density and medium density dwellings. Most of the streets of the suburb away from the main arterial roads, are only low density detached and attached dwellings on smaller blocks. Units and townhouses however are a fairly common find amongst the main roads, and particularly towards the water. The marina near Bridgewater Park is an example of where units and townhouses can be found.
Many of the dwellings in the suburb have a very high level of fixtures and fittings within it. A feature of the suburb is the lighter open plan living within the dwellings. Many dwellings have a high bathroom to bedroom ratio.
It is fairly common to see many residents maintain their existing dwellings, and can be seen gardening within the suburb. Rozelle is a suburb where many locals are fairly against high rise development. There have been cases where there has been huge refusal request for developments, particularly towards the Balmain Peninsula side of Victoria Road.
Capital Growth
Rozelle is a top performing nationally in terms of capital growth, and consistently places within the top 20 suburbs in Sydney.
Historically 9-9.5% year on year capital growth has been recorded for houses, however this differs quite significantly within the suburb. Properties towards the quieter pockets of the Balmain Peninsula tend to perform above 11%, with properties towards the Lilyfield side in the industrial busy sections performing sometimes below 7%.
Units tend to perform anywhere between 5-7% year on year. This depends on the location of the suburb. Many units towards the water with uninterrupted views tend to perform towards the 7% mark.
Cash Flow
Rozelle is a unique suburb in the sense that it provides yields generally above 2.5% for houses yet is over $2 million, an uncommon find within Sydney and many suburbs in Australia.
Houses generally with a high level of fixtures and fittings may have yields above 3% on occasion, providing a great total return.
Units generally average 3.5-4.5% yield, and again depend on location. The better yield generally comes towards the water, which are particularly more desirable.
It should be noted that units here may have very high strata rates. It is not uncommon to see rates above $12,000 per annum due to the level of services required.
Rental Demand
As a highly desirable suburb, Rozelle is historically a suburb of vacancy rates for houses below 2%, generally averaging 1.5%. Houses generally are tenanted by professional couples or working professional families. Rents generally increase between 2-4% year on year, which is fairly significant when rents tend to be above $850 per week.
Units may average slightly higher vacancy rates, between 2-3% as supply in some areas has increased significantly. Increases tend to be dependent on the location of the suburb, relevant to proximity to the water and location as previously mentioned.
It should be noted, that many who seek a property to lease here should reach out well in advance, as often open homes attract above average attendees.
Why You Require a Buyers Agent in Rozelle
Rozelle is one of the best suburbs in Australia for many reasons; it is close to the Sydney CBD, has a local village & feels like a town rather than a Sydney suburb, has excellent paying jobs close by and is part of a great community.
Due to these reasons, Rozelle is always in demand. Properties in Rozelle 30 years ago were below $200,000, now above $2 million. With a close to 10% average year on year growth, it is not uncommon to see properties smashing reserve by over 20%.
The suburb also has a strong international demand, many people at auctions can be seen speaking different languages whilst bidding. Budgets at times are irrelevant depending on the buyer.
The best properties in Rozelle are also sold off market a lot of the time. It is crucial to be purchasing in the right pocket of Rozelle, as capital growth and yield does vary depending on the part of the suburb that you are within.
Your overall strategy in the suburb is paramount to your success, having the right experience in your corner will save you hundreds of thousands and potentially make you millions in decades to come.
Why not seek Professional Advice from one of our consultants
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