Get a property report and suburb profile for any property in Dapto

Dapto sits in the northern Illawarra between the lake plain beside Lake Illawarra and the Illawarra Escarpment. It functions as a regional centre with a busy main street and a shopping mall clustered around the Dapto train station on the South Coast line. Housing ranges from older weatherboard cottages and brick bungalows to newer estate homes, attracting families, commuters and local tradespeople.

The community of 10,954 has a median age of 39 and a median total household income of $1,475 a week. Families make up the bulk of households, with couple families with children accounting for 40.9% and owner-occupation about 74.6% of homes. Everyday schools, sports fields, a community health centre and good transport links are close by; the station has recently had a major upgrade and further works to the high school and town centre are under way or planned. Whether Dapto suits you depends on what you want from a regional base.

At around $878,500, a median house in Dapto works out to about 11.5 times a typical local household's annual income at the last Census, which puts buying well above what people locally earned at that time. Renting is also a significant cost: the average house rent of $680 a week is about 46.1% of a typical local household's weekly income at the last Census, while the average unit rent of $500 a week is about 33.9%.

On these figures, renting takes a sizeable to large share of a typical local household's income at the last Census, and buying sits markedly higher by the price multiple; whether that feels expensive depends 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.

Unit values in Dapto climbed 11.9% over the past 12 months, a strong rise in capital value. House values rose 6.8% over the same period, a solid increase, while house rents increased 9.7% — a notable gain for rental income. The figures show unit capital growth outpaced house capital growth this year, and the rent a house earns rose faster than its price.

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.