Is Hornsby a nice place to live?

Hornsby is a major commercial and transport hub on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, centred on Hornsby station with a shopping mall, a pedestrian mall and regular train services. Couples with children are the largest family group, at 47.5%, and while many homes are rented most are still owner-occupied; the town centre has shops, cinemas, cafés, restaurants and civic facilities, and Hornsby Library reopened after a multi-million-dollar upgrade with a dedicated children's area.

Is it expensive to live in Hornsby?

A typical local household earned about $1,952 a week at the last Census. If you're renting in Hornsby, a house at $850 a week would take about 44% of that weekly income, a large share of income, while a unit at $650 a week would take about 33%, a sizeable share. On the buying side, the median house price of $1,656,000 works out to about 16.3 times a typical local annual household income, and the median unit price of $695,000 is about 6.8 times annual income. On these figures, buying a house sits well above local incomes and buying a unit also sits well above local incomes but to a lesser extent. 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.

Is Hornsby a good place to invest?

Unit rents in Hornsby rose a solid 6.6% over the past 12 months, while unit values rose a modest 2.1%. House values edged up 1.2% and house rents rose slightly 0.6%. Put simply, on units rental income increased faster than capital growth, whereas on houses capital growth edged out rental income. 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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Hornsby suburb profile

Hornsby sits on Sydney's Upper North Shore and functions as a major commercial and transport hub. Its town centre clusters around Hornsby station with a shopping mall and pedestrian mall, and regular train services to the city and regional lines. The suburb is framed by bushland and river valleys, offering walking tracks, sandstone ridges and small reserves on the suburban fringe.

Housing changes from apartment buildings and townhouses near the centre to older federation and mid-century homes on tree-lined streets, many with established gardens. The centre hosts shops, cinemas, cafés and restaurants alongside civic and community facilities, making Hornsby a clear local focal point.

Hornsby property market performance

Current median dwelling price$1,175,500Past 3 months

Property growth+1.7%Past 12 months

Hornsby's median house price is $1.66 million, up 1.2% over the last 12 months, a marginal rise. The median unit price is $695,000, up 2.1% over the last 12 months, a modest rise. Units had a median days on market of 21 days, selling much more quickly than houses.

In Hornsby, unit rents rose 6.6% over the last 12 months, a notable increase that outpaced unit values.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	$1.66M	$695K
Change in value Past 12 months	1.2%	2.1%
Sold Past 3 months	38	58
Median days on market Past 12 months	41	21
Average rent Past 12 months	$850	$650
Change in rent Past 12 months	0.6%	6.6%

5 year median price trend for houses and units

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Hornsby demographics

Hornsby has 44.1% of homes rented, but most homes are still owner-occupied. Couples with children are the largest family group, at 47.5%.

At the 2021 Census there were 22,462 people living in Hornsby.

Hornsby and NSW

	Suburb	NSW
Median age years	38	39
Median household income weekly	$1,952	$1,829
Couples with children share of families	47.5%	44.7%
Couples without children share of families	36.0%	37.9%
One-parent families share of families	14.4%	15.8%
Homes owned outright share of homes	23.4%	32.6%
Homes with a mortgage share of homes	32.5%	33.6%
Homes rented share of homes	44.1%	33.7%

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

Hornsby infrastructure, key developments and investment opportunities

In Hornsby, the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital Stage 2 redevelopment was completed in 2023, delivering a Clinical Services Building that includes an intensive care and high dependency unit.

Council adopted the Hornsby Town Centre Masterplan in November 2023 and the NSW Government finalised the Hornsby Transport Oriented Development rezoning in November 2024, which provides for a new bus interchange. Council approved a Special Entertainment Precinct trial within the TOD footprint in December 2024. Hornsby Library reopened after a multi-million-dollar upgrade in 2022 and added a dedicated children's area.

Suburbs near Hornsby

Some popular suburbs near Hornsby include:

How does Hornsby compare to nearby suburbs?

Median house prices: Hornsby’s median house price is 9.5% lower than Normanhurst’s.
Median unit prices: Hornsby’s median unit price is 14.7% lower than Waitara’s.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Hornsby have grown 11.7% higher than in Waitara.
Unit price growth: Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Hornsby have grown 1.5% higher than in Asquith.
Selling speed for houses: Properties in Hornsby are selling 6.8% faster than in Asquith.
Selling speed for units: Properties in Hornsby are selling 4.5% faster than in Waitara.
Investment considerations: In Hornsby, the rental yield for house is 7.9% lower than the Sydney average, while the rental yield for units is 17.7% lower.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Hornsby have grown 12.8% lower than the average rate of growth across Sydney.
Unit price growth:Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Hornsby have grown 20.1% lower than the average rate of growth for units across Sydney.

Common questions about Hornsby

Is Hornsby a nice place to live?
Hornsby is a major commercial and transport hub on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, centred on Hornsby station with a shopping mall, a pedestrian mall and regular train services.

Couples with children are the largest family group, at 47.5%, and while many homes are rented most are still owner-occupied; the town centre has shops, cinemas, cafés, restaurants and civic facilities, and Hornsby Library reopened after a multi-million-dollar upgrade with a dedicated children's area.
Is it expensive to live in Hornsby?
A typical local household earned about $1,952 a week at the last Census. If you're renting in Hornsby, a house at $850 a week would take about 44% of that weekly income, a large share of income, while a unit at $650 a week would take about 33%, a sizeable share.

On the buying side, the median house price of $1,656,000 works out to about 16.3 times a typical local annual household income, and the median unit price of $695,000 is about 6.8 times annual income. On these figures, buying a house sits well above local incomes and buying a unit also sits well above local incomes but to a lesser extent. 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.
Is Hornsby a good place to invest?
Unit rents in Hornsby rose a solid 6.6% over the past 12 months, while unit values rose a modest 2.1%. House values edged up 1.2% and house rents rose slightly 0.6%.

Put simply, on units rental income increased faster than capital growth, whereas on houses capital growth edged out rental income.

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 Hornsby

In Hornsby ,115 agents are actively selling property, but a small number do the heavy lifting. Just 5 agents handled 26.8% of all sales in the past year, giving them a strong presence and deep experience in the local market.

Commission rates usually sit between 1.72% and 2.25%. Comparing agents and understanding what’s included in their fee structure can help you find the right mix of service, value, and motivation—without compromising on outcomes.