Skip to content
Suburb profile ·Port Stephens LGA · NSW ·2324

Karuah NSW 2324

Karuah is in Port Stephens LGA, NSW, postcode 2324, with population 1,618.

The read

Income-first

There are enough stretched or weaker signals here that you should assume trade-offs rather than a clean story. Use compare mode to see whether the downside is price, local quality, or weaker momentum before treating it as a target suburb.

$600/wk
Rising
+7.1% YoY
Jun 2025 → Jun 2026 · 13 periods
NSW Fair Trading · postcode 2324 · Jun 2026
$600
$550
Jun 2025Jun 2026
Why it fits

Gross yield screens at about 5.2%. Entry price sits in the lower-cost range for a first-pass screen. Transport coverage adds a practical access signal.

Read full evidence → Compare suburb Run calculator
Median house
$595K
House median, latest period
↓8.5%YoY D3 vs AU
Median rent
$600/wk
Rent-led investor candidate
↑7.1%YoY D10 vs AU
Gross yield
5.2%
Strong yield band
D10 vs AU
Population
1,618
2K local footprint
D8 vs AU
Schools
1
Matched school context
D1 vs AU
Drive to city
3h 6m
233.8 km to Sydney CBD · free-flow
Solar
6,084
352 added 12mo · 38MW
Price cycleRising
LowPeak

8.5% below peak · 191.7% above its low

See trend depth →

Price history

House and unit medians · ABS + state datasets

Houses to Q4'25 · Units to 2025 — house and unit medians are released on separate cycles, so their latest period can differ.

Trend & investor depth

Derived from this suburb's own price, rent and income history
Cycle positionRising
Low · 2008Peak · 2025

8.5% below peak · 191.7% above its low

Price growth (compound)% per year
3-yr
+1.0%
5-yr
+6.2%
10-yr
+6.9%
Indicative cashflow-$136/wk (-$7,064/yr) · interest-only @ 6.4%, 80% LVR
Market turnover4.7% of homes traded/yr (33 sales · -15% vs 3-yr avg)
Rent stabilitystable — rents vary ±1.3% around trend (short window, 13 pts)
Value vs advantage+7% vs suburbs of similar SEIFA advantage (decile 1)

Indicative cashflow is interest-only and excludes tax — use the calculator for a full projection. Turnover divides recorded sales by an estimated household count (population over average household size).

Investment grade

Composite · growth · yield · stability
Agrade · 84/100 · top 16% of 3,604AU suburbs
Peer distributionstronger than 84% of AU suburbs
WeakerTypicalStronger
Capital growth50
Rental yield94
Stability43
Volatility-16.4ppCycle+2.0

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer · stability drivers signed (+ = steadier)

Relative grade across Australian suburbs, combining qp's capital-growth (multi-year CAGR + cycle timing), rental-yield, and stability (price volatility + cycle + affordability) metrics via a three-pillar property-scoring method with an imbalance penalty. Within-Australia relative, indicative only — not financial advice.

Investor profile

Who invests in Karuah

Owner-occupied 79%Rented 21%
Investor activityATO
Negatively geared4%
566 of 1,480 landlords
Avg rental loss$6,500/yr
Landlords (rental income)1,480
Reported capital gains990
Investor exposure index(moderate vs national)54.7/100
The read

Owner-occupier stronghold

77% of homes here are owner-occupied and 20% rented, with 4% of landlords negatively geared.

Why it fits

77% owner-occupied — owner-occupiers hold longer and absorb rate shocks, supporting price stability.

ABS Census 2021 tenure (G37), ATO postcode rental statistics, and QuickProperty's investor-exposure index. Owner-occupied = owned outright + with a mortgage.

Mortgage affordability

RBA rate · ABS Census 2021 household income
63%
of household income to service a new loan
14.4 yrs
to save a 20% deposit
Severe
housing-stress band
Rent vs buyRoughly even

New-loan repayment $2,915/mo vs median rent $2,600/mo (+12% · +$73/wk)

If rates move

At 4.2%: $2,328/mo (-588) · at 6.2% (current): $2,915/mo · at 8.2%: $3,559/mo (+644)

Assumes a 20% deposit and a 30-year principal-and-interest loan at the current RBA new owner-occupier variable rate, against median weekly household income (ABS Census 2021). Stress bands follow the 30% / 45%-of-income thresholds used in ANZ-CoreLogic and AIHW reporting. Rent vs buy compares that repayment with the suburb's median advertised rent; it excludes rates, insurance, maintenance and deposit opportunity cost.

Stronger alternatives nearby

Similar-priced suburbs in other council areas that rate higher on a metric.

Higher yield

similar price · cross-LGA

Stronger 5-yr growth

similar price · cross-LGA

More affordable

lower price-to-income

Alternatives are similar-priced suburbs (0.7–1.4x this suburb's median) in other council areas that exceed it on the named metric. Indicative — not financial advice.

Affordability

Buying & renting · ABS Census + state data
Buying
10.8x
median home price as a multiple of annual household income
Stretched
Renting
57%
median weekly rent as a share of gross household income (the 30% rule)
High stress

Owners with a mortgage repay a median of $1,444/mo, while renters pay about $2,600/mo — renting runs $1,156/mo higher on these medians.

Median price
$595K
Household income · yr
$55K
Median rent · wk
$600
Owner mortgage · mo
$1,444
Gross yield
5.2%

Household income

ABS Census · ATO
$55K household · yr-33% vs NSW suburb median
Personal
$29K
Family
$71K
Household
$55K
Household income distribution (ABS Census 2021 · weekly)18% could service the median house
Under $300
43
$300-649
114
$650-999
127
$1,000-1,499
103
$1,500-1,999
64
$2,000-2,999
76
$3,000-3,999
34
$4,000+
22

Serviceability line: a household needs about $2,243/wk to hold a new loan on the median house at 30% of income (20% deposit, 30-year P&I, current RBA rate).

At the median asking rent, about 77% of households here would spend more than 30% of income on rent (rent stress line: $2,000/wk income).

Housing stock and tenure

ABS Census 2021
Tenure (633 households)2.8% social housing
Owned outright
48%
Owned with mortgage
29%
Rented
20%
Dwelling structure9.0% of dwellings unoccupied on census night
Separate house
93%
Townhouse / semi
3%
Flat / apartment
1%

Getting to work: 82% drive, 0% public transport, 5% walk or cycle, 12% worked from home (2021 Census, taken during COVID-era work-from-home arrangements).

Schools

ACARA 2025
Total1
Avg ICSEA875
Students157
Government1
  • Karuah Public SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 875

Livability

OSM · GTFS · schools + hospitals
40/ 100 livability index

Top 60% most liveable of 4,565Australian suburbs.

Peer distributionstronger than 40% of Australian suburbs
WeakerTypicalStronger
Everyday access19
Public transport (21 stops)56
Schools & hospitals25

Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer

Suburb-level access-density index (not an address-level walk-time score), normalised within Australian suburbs. Method based on the Urban Liveability Index (Higgs et al. 2019) and Walk Score — three equal-weighted domains combined with an imbalance penalty.

Crime April 2025 - March 2026
2,566
3,252 per 100k
D5 vs AU

Crime

lga
Rate · per 100k3,252
Total incidents2,566· April 2025 - March 2026
  • Assault82165%
  • Sexual Offences24319%
  • Robbery111%
  • Break And Enter19215%

Development screen

Could a secondary dwelling be worth investigating?

Some supporting context
secondary dwelling / granny flat screening context Medium broad constraint context

Policy position

Official policy reviewed

Permitted in residential zones under the Housing SEPP; may be approved by consent or as complying development when Housing SEPP and Codes SEPP standards are met.

Rental use: Secondary dwelling rental use is allowed as a dwelling use, subject to planning and tenancy rules.

Open official policy source

Separate houses

83.8%

Suburb share of occupied private dwellings recorded as separate houses.

6.3 pp above the state median

State median 77.5% · 1,253 valid suburbs

Residential-zone context

2.1%

Broad suburb sampling only; the property zoning and overlays can differ.

40.2 pp below the state median

State median 42.3% · 1,245 valid suburbs

Rental households

20.1%

Demand context only; it does not establish permission to rent a secondary dwelling.

5.8 pp below the state median

State median 25.9% · 1,253 valid suburbs

Mapped hazards

bushfire high

The staged suburb layer indicates a broad-area constraint that needs address-level checking. No broad-area layer staged for this suburb.

Approval pathway

Four checks, each with a different evidence threshold.

This is an investigation sequence, not a guarantee that every step applies or that approval will be granted.

  1. 01 Source reviewed

    State policy position

    QuickProperty reviewed the official secondary dwelling / granny flat policy source.

  2. 02 Property dependent

    Planning pathway

    Test consent or complying-development eligibility, including the 450 m² lot marker and all other standards.

  3. 03 Design dependent

    Building approval

    Confirm the building approval route after the design, site classifications, services and construction requirements are known.

  4. 04 Check separately

    Intended use

    Confirm long-term rental, short-stay or family-use rules separately from permission to construct the dwelling.

Property due diligence

Turn the suburb screen into a property checklist.

Every check starts unconfirmed. Progress stays in this browser and suburb evidence never clears an address-level requirement.

0evidence acquired
0evidence missing
0reviews due
0consultant questions

Active record: Karuah unnamed property

0/14checked
0issues found

Site controls

Lot area and dimensions

Confirm title dimensions, usable site area and any minimum lot threshold.

Status for Lot area and dimensions
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Setbacks and site coverage

Test setbacks, private open space, landscaping and maximum site coverage against a concept plan.

Status for Setbacks and site coverage
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Slope and ground conditions

Check survey levels, soil classification, retaining needs and likely earthworks.

Status for Slope and ground conditions
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Title and planning

Zoning and overlays

Obtain current property-level zoning, overlays and applicable planning controls.

Status for Zoning and overlays
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Title, easements and covenants

Review the title for easements, covenants, restrictions and common property.

Status for Title, easements and covenants
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Services and access

Sewer and stormwater

Locate assets and connection points, then confirm capacity, clearances and discharge requirements.

Status for Sewer and stormwater
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Power, water and metering

Confirm service routes, upgrade needs and whether separate metering is permitted or practical.

Status for Power, water and metering
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Vehicle access and parking

Test driveway width, gradients, turning, parking and emergency access requirements.

Status for Vehicle access and parking
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Construction constraints

Bushfire exposure

Order an address-level bushfire assessment and determine any BAL construction response.

Status for Bushfire exposure
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Flood and overland flow

Obtain property flood information and check floor levels, flow paths and drainage constraints.

Status for Flood and overland flow
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Wind, corrosion and termite

Confirm site classifications that affect structural design, materials and durability.

Status for Wind, corrosion and termite
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Approval and use

Planning approval pathway

Confirm exemption, complying pathway or permit requirements with the responsible authority.

Status for Planning approval pathway
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Building approval and consultants

Identify required survey, design, engineering, energy, certification and inspection evidence.

Status for Building approval and consultants
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Rental and intended use

Confirm occupation, rental, short-stay and family-use rules plus insurance and tax implications.

Status for Rental and intended use
Evidence packMissing

Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.

Karuah, NSW 2324 · Local browser record

Investigation aid only. Confirm current planning, building, title, service and hazard requirements with qualified professionals and responsible authorities.

Building due diligence

Construction requirements can change by location.

1 broad-area layer staged

The National Construction Code is the baseline. Local hazards and site classifications can change the required structure, materials, fixings, insulation and detailing.

Known here

SUBURB CONTEXT

Bushfire-prone land

Severe broad-area context

About 86.4% of the suburb intersects mapped bushfire-prone land.

May affect: External construction · Roof and wall systems · Openings, screens and decks

Check the property

ADDRESS + DESIGN

NCC climate zone

Check the property

Confirm the NCC climate zone used for the building design and energy provisions.

May affect: Insulation and glazing · Condensation control · Roof-space ventilation

Wind class and BAL

Site assessment required

A suburb layer cannot determine the site wind classification or Bushfire Attack Level.

May affect: Structure and tie-downs · Cladding and fixings · Openings and bushfire detailing

Corrosion and termite exposure

Check the property

Confirm marine or corrosive exposure and the applicable termite-management requirements.

May affect: Fasteners and connectors · Roofing and coatings · Termite management

This screen identifies investigation triggers, not building quality or property compliance. Confirm the address, design and current jurisdiction rules with the council, building surveyor or certifier, designer and engineer.

NCC 2022 Housing Provisions: how to use · NCC 2022 Volume Two and Housing Provisions

Bushfire exposure

NSW RFS Bush Fire Prone Land
Severe exposure ~86.4%
~86.4% of the suburb is Bush Fire Prone Land · ~62.8% Category 1 (highest hazard)

Estimated exposure to NSW RFS Bush Fire Prone Land (CC BY), point-sampled across the suburb. This shows how much of the suburb sits within the official hazard layer — it is not a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating or a property-level assessment. Obtain a BAL assessment (AS 3959) for an individual property.

Planning zones

NSW Land Zoning (EPI)
Dominant zone Rural Landscape
Rural / Green wedge 64% Public / Open space 24% Other 8% Residential 2%
Residential density: Low

Land-use mix estimated by point-sampling the suburb against NSW EPI Land Zoning polygons (CC BY 4.0). This is a suburb-level snapshot of planning zones, not a parcel-level zoning certificate or development advice. Check the relevant planning scheme for an individual property.

Population outlook

ABS projection · Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah SA2 area · 2022 base
15,566 people · 202220,803 by 2032 (+33.6%)

ABS population projection (2022 base) for the Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah SA2 statistical area — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.

Full data detail Census · ATO · ABS · state datasets
Karuah NSW — Property Data and Demographics

Karuah (postcode 2324) is a small locality in New South Wales within the Port Stephens local government area. With a population of 1,618, the suburb has a mature demographic with a median age of 50. Households earn a median income of $55K per year, with an average household size of 2.3 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +1.3% year-on-year at the LGA level. NSW employment has moved +1.2% year-on-year in the official ABS Labour Force trend series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. NSW also had 35 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 17 underway, and 67 in planning as at 2025-09-01, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are technicians & trades, labourers, community & personal service. Employment in the area leans toward construction and healthcare. The top ancestries reported are Australian, English, Irish.

The median house price in Karuah is $595,000, having fallen sharply by 8.5% over the past year. Units have a median price of $500,000. The current median weekly rent is $600. This gives a gross rental yield of approximately 5.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,444.

Karuah is served by 1 school, including 1 primary. The average ICSEA score is 875, which is well below the national average of 1,000. Public transport access includes 21 bus stops. The crime rate in the Port Stephens LGA is below average at 3,252 incidents per 100,000 population.

From an investment perspective, Gross rental yield sits at around 5.2% (high yield). Property prices sit below the state median ($595K/$1.5M), which can point to relative value. The price-to-income ratio of 10.8x is considered stretched. House prices have moved -8.5% year-on-year. Population growth of +1.3% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.

Market & money
Investment signalsHeuristics
Rental Yield5.2%↑ High Yield
Price vs State$595K/$1.5M↑ Below Median
Affordability10.8x↓ Stretched
Price Momentum-8.5%↓ Falling
Pop. Growth+1.3%· Stable
Development+0%· Steady
InvestmentNSW
Mortgage · mth$1,444
Rent · wk(Census)$300
Market rent · wk(2026-06)$600
Gross yield2.6%
Price / income10.8x
Sales vol (latest Q)(2025-Q4)5
Population growth · Port Stephens LGAABS ERP
Population (2025)80,070
5-year growth+1.5% CAGR
YoY change+1.3%
20012025
Development · Port Stephens LGAABS Approvals
Approvals (2026)608
Houses 71%Units 29%
YoY change+0%
Employment · Port Stephens LGASALM
Unemployment (Dec-25)4.5%
YoY change-0.3pp
Dec-10Dec-25
Property investors · Postcode 2324ATO
Negatively geared4%
566 of filers
Avg rental loss$6,500/yr
Landlords (rental income)1,480
Reported capital gains990
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 21
Population1,618
Median age50
Household size2.3
HH income · wk$1,061
Personal income · wk$555
Persons / bedroom0.8
SEIFA indexABS
Advantage (IRSAD)1/10
Education (IEO)1/10
Economic (IER)2/10
Disadvantage (IRSD)1/10
Income momentumCensus 16→21
HH income · wk$795 → $1,061
Change+33.5%
vs NSW median+12.9 pp
Median rent+25%
gentrifyingvs NSW 2016–21
Top occupationsCensus
Technicians & Trades90Labourers84Community & Personal Service73Machinery Operators & Drivers65Clerical & Administrative58
Top industriesCensus
Construction91Healthcare66Retail Trade47Accommodation & Food44Manufacturing33
Top ancestryCensus
Australian720English621Irish186Aboriginal Australian184Scottish149
Area & amenity
Local amenitiesOSM
Supermarkets0
Pharmacies0
GP / clinics0
Fuel stations1
Cafes & dining1
TransportGTFS
Bus stops21
Hospitals · Port Stephens LGAAIHW
Public1
Private0
Tomaree Community Hospitalpublic
Aged care · Port Stephens LGAGEN
Facilities5
Residential places482
Harbourside Residential Care151 places
Regis Port Stephens150 places
Raymond Terrace Gardens Care Community80 places
Uniting Salamander Bay60 places
Calvary Tanilba Shores Retirement Community41 places
Childcare · Port Stephens LGAACECQA
Services54
Approved places3,047
Exceeding NQS8
Little Beginnings at Medowie126 places
Busy Bees at Salt Ash120 places
St Nicholas Early Education Raymond Terrace110 places
The Learning Terrace Early Education, Care and Preschool109 places
Discover and Learn Academy104 places
Milestones Early Learning Fern Bay104 places
+48 more in Port Stephens LGA
Nearby in Port Stephens LGA12
Shoal Bay$1.1M · 1,815Lemon Tree Passage$723K · 2,686Salt Ash$928K · 1,103Mallabula$720K · 963Fingal Bay$1.3M · 1,635Soldiers Point$1.3M · 1,564Tanilba Bay$765K · 3,237Wallalong$990K · 1,049Heatherbrae$549K · 654Williamtown$795K · 762Seaham$1.3M · 1,011Fullerton Cove$1.1M · 735
Tax calculatorsaustax.tools
Stamp Duty CalculatorNSW ↗Land Tax CalculatorNSW ↗Capital Gains Tax↗Depreciation Calculator↗Investment Property Tax↗
Shortlist workspace

Save suburbs here while you browse. Once the shortlist has two or more names, hand it straight into compare.

Current status
Add Karuah if it deserves a shortlist slot.

No saved AU suburbs yet.

EMPTY SET

No saved suburbs yet. Start with one ranking or suburb page, then compare once you have two candidates.

Open rankings to save the first candidates.

Model current suburb
Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Karuah carries enough direct local evidence for a first-pass decision.

QuickProperty mixes release files, Census baselines, and matched local services on this page. Read the status panel before treating every metric as equally fresh.

PRICE POSTURE
NSW price medians are parser-guarded official records.

Official sale records parsed from cached Bulk PSI ZIP files with parser guardrails for token sales, non-house zoning, and low-value strata component records

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using a state market dataset when available.

Use current rent as a starting signal, not as a fixed underwriting truth.

SERVICE POSTURE
Service coverage is matched locally, not inferred nationally.

Schools, transport, and hospitals are useful as presence signals, but they still have different source cadences.

Data status
Property prices
NSW Valuer General · 2025-Q4 · Official sale records parsed from cached Bulk PSI ZIP files with parser guardrails for token sales, non-house zoning, and low-value strata component records
medium stability · automated · every update · weekly
Available
Market rent
NSW Fair Trading · 2026-06 · State market dataset
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Crime
BOCSAR · April 2025 - March 2026 · Area-level release dataset
medium stability · automated · every update · release-based
Available
Schools
ACARA 2025 · 1 schools matched
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Hospitals
AIHW · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
GTFS feeds · 21 matched stops/stations
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Available
Population growth
ABS ERP · 2025 · Annual estimate series
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Building approvals
ABS Building Approvals · 2026 · Annual release series
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Available means a direct local dataset is linked. Verify means coverage exists but freshness or precision is weaker, such as ABS price fallback, Census rent fallback, or low-confidence hospital matching.

Karuah FAQ

Common questions
  1. What LGA is Karuah in?

    Karuah is in the Port Stephens Local Government Area, NSW, postcode 2324. Council-level context for Port Stephens LGA (suburb mix, population, rent, and price coverage) is available on the QuickProperty LGA page.

  2. What is the median house price in Karuah?

    The current median house price in Karuah, NSW is $595K, based on the latest available sales data from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region.

  3. What is the typical weekly rent in Karuah?

    The median weekly rent in Karuah is $600/wk, based on the current market rent dataset. The current rent signal is rent-led investor candidate.

  4. What does the rent signal say about Karuah?

    Rent-led investor candidate: Gross rent yield screens at about 5.2%. Use this as a suburb screening signal before comparing candidates or modelling a purchase; the matching rent ranking can provide broader market context.

  5. Is Karuah a good investment?

    QuickProperty's investment signals for Karuah show: High Yield, Below Median, Stretched. These are computed from price, rent, income, and population data — not an opaque score.

  6. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Karuah?

    Property prices come from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region. Demographics are from ABS Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA. Crime statistics are from state police agencies. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  7. How often is the Karuah data updated?

    Property prices update quarterly. RBA macro indicators update with each deploy. Demographics are from Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA 2025.