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Suburb profile ·Newcastle LGA · NSW ·2291

Merewether Heights NSW 2291

Merewether Heights is in Newcastle LGA, NSW, postcode 2291, with population 1,495.

The read

Premium-market

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.

$735/wk
+12.2% YoY
Mar 2025 → Apr 2026 · 14 periods
NSW Fair Trading · postcode 2291 · Apr 2026
$825
$650
Mar 2025Apr 2026
Why it fits

Transport coverage adds a practical access signal. Higher SEIFA context supports a stronger local-quality read.

What to check

Premium pricing raises the bar for yield, affordability, and downside checks. Gross yield looks low for an income-first use case.

Median house
$1.7M
House median, latest period
2.3%YoY D9 vs AU
Median rent
$735/wk
Rent context available
12.2%YoY D10 vs AU
Gross yield
2.2%
Low yield band
D6 vs AU
Population
1,495
1K local footprint
D8 vs AU
Schools
1
Matched school context
D1 vs AU
Solar
2,005
165 added 12mo · 14MW

Price history

HousesUnits

Houses to Q3'25 · Units to 2011 — house and unit medians are released on separate cycles, so their latest period can differ.

Trend & investor depth

Cycle positionRising
Low · 2005Peak · 2024

2.3% below peak · 280.4% above its low

Price growth (compound)3-yr +6.9%/yr · 5-yr +11.7%/yr · 10-yr +8.8%/yr
Indicative cashflow-$1,054/wk (-$54,783/yr) · interest-only @ 6.1%, 80% LVR

Indicative cashflow is interest-only and excludes tax — use the calculator for a full projection.

Affordability

Buying
10.9x
median home price as a multiple of annual household income
Stretched
Renting
24%
median weekly rent as a share of gross household income (the 30% rule)
Manageable

Owners with a mortgage repay a median of $2,600/mo, while renters pay about $3,185/mo — renting runs $585/mo higher on these medians.

Median price
$1.71M
Household income · yr
$157K
Median rent · wk
$735
Owner mortgage · mo
$2,600
Gross yield
2.2%

Household income

$157K household · yr+90.9% vs NSW suburb median
Personal
$60K
Family
$169K
Household
$157K

Schools

Total1
Avg ICSEA1129
Students269
Government1
  • Merewether Heights Public SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 1129
Crime January 2025 - December 2025
10,954
6,285 per 100k
D8 vs AU

Crime

Rate · per 100k6,285
Total incidents10,954· January 2025 - December 2025
  • Assault2,14352%
  • Sexual Offences60815%
  • Robbery832%
  • Break And Enter1,31332%

Full data detail

Merewether Heights NSW — Property Data and Demographics

Merewether Heights is a small community in New South Wales within the Newcastle local government area (postcode 2291). It is home to about 1,495 residents, with a settled mid-life population and a median age of 41. Households earn a median income of $157K per year, with an average household size of 2.9 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +1.1% year-on-year at the LGA level. NSW employment has moved +0.3% year-on-year in the official Jobs and Skills Australia NERO series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. NSW also had 37 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 5 underway, and 75 in planning as at 2 October 2024, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are professionals, managers, clerical & administrative. Employment in the area leans toward healthcare and education. The top ancestries reported are English, Australian, Irish.

Median house prices in Merewether Heights stand at $1.7 million, having softened modestly by 2.3% over the last twelve months. Units have a median price of $525,000. The current median weekly rent is $735. This gives a gross rental yield of approximately 2.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $2,600.

Merewether Heights is served by 1 school, including 1 primary. The average ICSEA score is 1129, which is well above the national average of 1,000. Public transport access includes 14 bus stops. The crime rate in the Newcastle LGA is moderate at 6,285 incidents per 100,000 population.

From an investment perspective, The gross rental yield works out to roughly 2.2%, which reads as low yield. Property prices are near the state median ($1.7M/$1.5M). The price-to-income ratio of 10.9x is considered stretched. House prices have moved -2.3% year-on-year. Population growth of +1.1% 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 Yield2.2% Low Yield
Price vs State$1.7M/$1.5M· Near Median
Affordability10.9x Stretched
Price Momentum-2.3% Falling
Pop. Growth+1.1%· Stable
Development+0%· Steady
InvestmentNSW
Mortgage · mth$2,600
Rent · wk(Census)$580
Market rent · wk(2026-04)$735
Gross yield1.8%
Price / income10.9x
Sales vol (latest Q)(2025-Q3)6
Population growth · Newcastle LGAABS ERP
Population (2025)178,935
5-year growth+1.2% CAGR
YoY change+1.1%
20012025
Development · Newcastle LGAABS Approvals
Approvals (2026)648
Houses198
Units450
YoY change+0%
Employment · Newcastle LGASALM
Unemployment (Dec-25)4.4%
YoY change+1.4pp
Dec-10Dec-25
Property investors · Postcode 2291ATO
Negatively geared876 (9.2% of filers)
Avg rental loss$12,252/yr
Landlords (rental income)2,060
Reported capital gains1,460
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 21
Population1,495
Median age41
Household size2.9
HH income · wk$3,022
Personal income · wk$1,159
Persons / bedroom0.8
SEIFA indexABS
Advantage (IRSAD)10/10
Education (IEO)10/10
Economic (IER)10/10
Disadvantage (IRSD)10/10
Area & amenity
TransportGTFS
Bus stops14
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Merewether Heights has 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-Q3 · 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 · 2026-04 · State market dataset
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Crime
BOCSAR · January 2025 - December 2025 · 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 · 14 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.

Merewether Heights FAQ

Common questions
  1. What LGA is Merewether Heights in?

    Merewether Heights is in the Newcastle Local Government Area, NSW, postcode 2291. Council-level context for Newcastle LGA (suburb mix, population, rent, and price coverage) is available on the QuickProperty LGA page.

  2. What is the median house price in Merewether Heights?

    The current median house price in Merewether Heights, NSW is $1.7M, 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 Merewether Heights?

    The median weekly rent in Merewether Heights is $735/wk, based on the current market rent dataset. The current rent signal is rent context available.

  4. What does the rent signal say about Merewether Heights?

    Rent context available: Merewether Heights has usable rent context. 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 Merewether Heights a good investment?

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

  6. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Merewether Heights?

    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 Merewether Heights 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.