Is Earlwood a nice place to live?

Earlwood is a garden suburb centred on the Cooks River, with tree-lined streets of interwar and Federation cottages, a village-style shopping strip and riverside parkland. The community is older and weighted towards families, with couples with children making up 51.8% of families and many households owning their homes outright. Everyday amenities are close at hand — cafes, takeaways and daily shops in the village strip, reserves and sports fields along the river, and regular buses to the suburban rail network and roads; a concept design has been exhibited for the Karool Avenue footbridge proposing a replacement with a shared-path deck.

Is it expensive to live in Earlwood?

At Earlwood's current median house price of $1,855,000, buying a house works out to about 16.5 times a typical local annual household income, using the median weekly household income of $2,164 from the most recent Census. On the rental side, the average house rent of $1,000 a week would take about 46% of that typical weekly household income, and the average unit rent of $690 a week would take about 32%. On these figures, buying a house sits well above local incomes, and renting also takes a sizeable to large share of a typical local household's income, with house rents the more stretched of the two. Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Is Earlwood a good place to invest?

What stands out in Earlwood over the past 12 months is an 8.3% rise in house rents while house values slipped by a marginal 1.5%. Unit values rose a modest 3.2% and unit rents increased 4.5%. For houses the recent movement is concentrated in rental income rather than capital growth, and for units rents rose a little faster than values. 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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Earlwood suburb profile

Earlwood is a garden-suburb in Sydney's inner south-west, set around the Cooks River and pockets of parkland. Tree-lined streets feature interwar and Federation cottages, Californian bungalows and pockets of low-rise apartment living, giving the suburb a settled, residential feel.

A village-style shopping strip hosts cafes, takeaways and daily shops, while reserves and sports fields follow the river corridor. Regular buses link to the wider suburban rail network and roads, making the area well connected without being purely urban. The overall character is calm and leafy with local amenities close at hand.

Earlwood property market performance

Current median dwelling price$1,382,500Past 3 months

Property growth+0.8%Past 12 months

Earlwood's median house price is $1,855,000 and house values fell slightly over the last 12 months (1.5%). The suburb is mainly a house market: houses recorded 43 sales in the past 3 months and only four units sold, so no reliable unit median can be published. The median days on market for houses was 50.

In Earlwood's rental market, house rents rose notably, increasing 8.3% over 12 months, while house values edged down marginally.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	$1.85M	N/A
Change in value Past 12 months	-1.5%	3.2%
Sold Past 3 months	43	4
Median days on market Past 12 months	50	52
Average rent Past 12 months	$1000	$690
Change in rent Past 12 months	8.3%	4.5%

5 year median price trend for houses and units

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Earlwood demographics

Earlwood is an older community with many households owning their homes outright.

Couples with children make up 51.8% of families and homes owned outright are 45.6% of homes. At the 2021 Census, 18,053 people lived in Earlwood.

Earlwood and NSW

	Suburb	NSW
Median age years	44	39
Median household income weekly	$2,164	$1,829
Couples with children share of families	51.8%	44.7%
Couples without children share of families	31.6%	37.9%
One-parent families share of families	15.3%	15.8%
Homes owned outright share of homes	45.6%	32.6%
Homes with a mortgage share of homes	33.3%	33.6%
Homes rented share of homes	21.1%	33.7%

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

Earlwood infrastructure, key developments and investment opportunities

Earlwood is part of the Cooks to Cove GreenWay, where an in-road tree-planting stage was completed in 2024 with 22 trees planted as part of the corridor works. The City of Canterbury Bankstown exhibited a concept design for the Karool Avenue footbridge in 2026, proposing a replacement with a four-metre clear shared-path deck, and having the project flagged for construction in the 2027/28 financial year.

A separate shared-path bridge across the Cooks River at Lang Road was listed for funding in the Get NSW Active FY2025–26 program in 2025, with the grant covering the bridge and the connecting shared paths.

Suburbs near Earlwood

Some popular suburbs near Earlwood include:

How does Earlwood compare to nearby suburbs?

Median house prices: Earlwood’s median house price is 11.9% lower than Canterbury’s.
Median unit prices: Earlwood’s median unit price is 18.2% higher than Canterbury’s.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Earlwood have grown 3.4% higher than in Turrella.
Unit price growth: Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Earlwood have grown 0.1% higher than in Turrella.
Selling speed for houses: Properties in nearby Canterbury are selling 28.0% faster than in Earlwood.
Selling speed for units: Properties in nearby Turrella are selling 55.8% faster than in Earlwood.
Investment considerations: In Earlwood, the rental yield for house is 8.3% higher than the Sydney average, while the rental yield for units is 12.7% lower.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Earlwood have grown 8.3% higher than the average rate of growth across Sydney.
Unit price growth:Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Earlwood have grown 2.7% lower than the average rate of growth for units across Sydney.

Common questions about Earlwood

Is Earlwood a nice place to live?
Earlwood is a garden suburb centred on the Cooks River, with tree-lined streets of interwar and Federation cottages, a village-style shopping strip and riverside parkland.

The community is older and weighted towards families, with couples with children making up 51.8% of families and many households owning their homes outright. Everyday amenities are close at hand — cafes, takeaways and daily shops in the village strip, reserves and sports fields along the river, and regular buses to the suburban rail network and roads; a concept design has been exhibited for the Karool Avenue footbridge proposing a replacement with a shared-path deck.
Is it expensive to live in Earlwood?
At Earlwood's current median house price of $1,855,000, buying a house works out to about 16.5 times a typical local annual household income, using the median weekly household income of $2,164 from the most recent Census. On the rental side, the average house rent of $1,000 a week would take about 46% of that typical weekly household income, and the average unit rent of $690 a week would take about 32%. On these figures, buying a house sits well above local incomes, and renting also takes a sizeable to large share of a typical local household's income, with house rents the more stretched of the two.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.
Is Earlwood a good place to invest?
What stands out in Earlwood over the past 12 months is an 8.3% rise in house rents while house values slipped by a marginal 1.5%. Unit values rose a modest 3.2% and unit rents increased 4.5%.

For houses the recent movement is concentrated in rental income rather than capital growth, and for units rents rose a little faster than values.

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 Earlwood

Choosing the right real estate agent in Earlwood can have a big impact on your sale. While there are 67 real estate agents working in the suburb, but just 5 of them were responsible for 56.1% of all property sales over the past year, showing a strong footprint and track record in the area.

Commission rates typically range from 1.67% to 2.28%, depending on the agent and what’s included. Comparing both performance and fee structures can help you find someone who's well-suited to your needs, and set them up for a successful result.