Is Balmain East a nice place to live?

Balmain East has a Sydney Ferries wharf, harbour-side parks and a compact retail strip of cafes, pubs and boutique shops. An older community with incomes above the NSW median, Balmain East has many couples without children at home, with 51.5% of families in that group. Everyday life revolves around water-side parks, walkable streets, frequent pedestrian activity along harbour pathways and ferry and bus connections, and Inner West Council has approved the draft 10-year Plan of Management for neighbourhood and pocket parks for public exhibition, a program that specifically includes Datchet Street Reserve in Balmain East.

Is it expensive to live in Balmain East?

In Balmain East a typical local household earned about $3,020 a week at the most recent Census. On those figures, a house renting for $1,398 a week would take about 46% of a typical local household's weekly income, which is a large share. A unit renting for $750 a week would take about 25% of that income, a moderate share. If you're renting, those rent shares are the most relevant numbers to consider; whether they feel expensive will depend on your own income and circumstances. Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Is Balmain East a good place to invest?

The most striking movement in Balmain East over the past 12 months is a large fall in unit values, down 30.6%, while unit rents rose a solid 7.1%. Houses moved differently: house values rose 13.4% and house rents rose 18.0%, so on houses rental income outpaced capital growth. Overall the market shows a split picture between property types, with strong rises on the house side and a sharp decline in unit values paired with a modest rent rise. This information has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional financial advice. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

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Balmain East suburb profile

Balmain East is an inner-west Sydney suburb on the Balmain peninsula, near Sydney Harbour and Rozelle Bay. The built fabric reflects its maritime past, with tree-lined lanes of Victorian and Federation terraces and cottages, alongside pockets of low-rise apartments and converted workers' housing close to the water.

A Sydney Ferries wharf and regular bus routes connect the peninsula with other parts of the inner west and the harbour. Day-to-day life centres on harbour-side parks and a compact retail strip of cafes, pubs and boutique shops, with walkable streets and frequent pedestrian activity along the harbour pathways.

Balmain East property market performance

Property growth-8.6%Past 12 months

Balmain East doesn't have reliable published median prices for houses or units because too few properties of either type have sold recently. In the last 3 months there were 8 house sales and 1 unit sale, so the area reads as largely a house market.

In Balmain East house rents rose sharply over the last 12 months, up 18.0%, while unit rents increased at a solid rate, up 7.1%.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	N/A	N/A
Change in value Past 12 months	13.4%	-30.6%
Sold Past 3 months	8	1
Median days on market Past 12 months	40	N/A
Average rent Past 12 months	$1398	$750
Change in rent Past 12 months	18.0%	7.1%

5 year median price trend for houses and units

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Balmain East demographics

Balmain East is an older community with incomes above the median for NSW and couples without children at home.

Couples without children make up 51.5% of families, and 41.2% of homes are rented. At the 2021 Census, 1,900 people lived in Balmain East.

Balmain East and NSW

	Suburb	NSW
Median age years	46	39
Median household income weekly	$3,020	$1,829
Couples with children share of families	38.0%	44.7%
Couples without children share of families	51.5%	37.9%
One-parent families share of families	9.6%	15.8%
Homes owned outright share of homes	34.7%	32.6%
Homes with a mortgage share of homes	24.1%	33.6%
Homes rented share of homes	41.2%	33.7%

Source: ABS 2021 Census. Shares of homes exclude other and not-stated tenure.

Balmain East infrastructure, key developments and investment opportunities

Balmain East's Balmain East Wharf upgrade was completed in 2015, and the upgraded wharf provides access to Cross Harbour ferry services. In January 2024 Inner West Council approved the draft 10-year Plan of Management for neighbourhood and pocket parks for public exhibition, a program that specifically includes Datchet Street Reserve in Balmain East.

Suburbs near Balmain East

Some popular suburbs near Balmain East include:

How does Balmain East compare to nearby suburbs?

Median house prices: Balmain East’s median house price is 51.6% higher than Balmain’s.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Balmain East have grown 2.2% higher than in Balmain.
Unit price growth: Property prices in nearby Barangaroo have risen 17.3% more than in Balmain East over the past year.
Selling speed for houses: Properties in Balmain East are selling 18.4% faster than in Balmain.
Investment considerations: In Balmain East, the rental yield for house is 51.5% higher than the Sydney average, while the rental yield for units is 5.1% lower.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Balmain East have grown 98.3% higher than the average rate of growth across Sydney.
Unit price growth:Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Balmain East have grown 46.9% higher than the average rate of growth for units across Sydney.

Common questions about Balmain East

Is Balmain East a nice place to live?
Balmain East has a Sydney Ferries wharf, harbour-side parks and a compact retail strip of cafes, pubs and boutique shops.
An older community with incomes above the NSW median, Balmain East has many couples without children at home, with 51.5% of families in that group. Everyday life revolves around water-side parks, walkable streets, frequent pedestrian activity along harbour pathways and ferry and bus connections, and Inner West Council has approved the draft 10-year Plan of Management for neighbourhood and pocket parks for public exhibition, a program that specifically includes Datchet Street Reserve in Balmain East.
Is it expensive to live in Balmain East?
In Balmain East a typical local household earned about $3,020 a week at the most recent Census. On those figures, a house renting for $1,398 a week would take about 46% of a typical local household's weekly income, which is a large share. A unit renting for $750 a week would take about 25% of that income, a moderate share.

If you're renting, those rent shares are the most relevant numbers to consider; whether they feel expensive will depend on your own income and circumstances.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.
Is Balmain East a good place to invest?
The most striking movement in Balmain East over the past 12 months is a large fall in unit values, down 30.6%, while unit rents rose a solid 7.1%.

Houses moved differently: house values rose 13.4% and house rents rose 18.0%, so on houses rental income outpaced capital growth. Overall the market shows a split picture between property types, with strong rises on the house side and a sharp decline in unit values paired with a modest rent rise.

This information has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional financial advice. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

Choose the right real estate agents in Balmain East

There are 17 real estate agents in Balmain East, but they don’t all deliver the same results.

Some agents have a much stronger presence in the suburb, with just 5 agents handling around 55.6% of all sales in the past year.

Commission rates in Balmain East typically range from 1.66% to 2.15%. Comparing agents—including what they charge, what’s included, and how they structure their fees—is not only important when choosing an agent, the right structure can help ensure your chosen agent is motivated to achieve the best possible result.