The numbers, in plain English
To rent in Hornsby without housing stress, a household income of about $127,000/year keeps the rent of $730/week at or below 30% of gross income — the standard affordability benchmark. That rent is the official median for a 2-bedroom unit — the most common new lease in postcode 2077 (58 bonds lodged). NSW publishes bond data by postcode rather than by suburb, so this is postcode 2077's figure, not Hornsby's alone. Check your income →
To buy the median home ($1,065,000) with a 20% deposit of $213k, repayments at 6.2% over 30 years come to about $5,218/month — comfortable on roughly $209,000/year under the same 30% rule. Saving that deposit at $1,500/month takes about 11.8 years, before stamp duty of $42k. Run your own loan →
That price is an estimate, and probably too low. Unlike the rent above, no government publishes open sale prices for New South Wales, so we model it from distance, population and income. Where we can check that model against real sales, it runs about 40% under — so treat this figure, and the deposit and repayments built on it, as a rough scale rather than a number to plan around. How we're fixing this →
Compared to the rest of New South Wales, Hornsby is more expensive to buy than 95% of the state's suburbs (state median $380k) and pricier to rent than 86% (state median $565/week). It sits roughly 22 km from the Sydney CBD as the crow flies.
For investors, the median rent against the median price gives a gross rental yield of about 3.6% before costs. Net yield calculator →
Modelled medians, not valuations — every formula above is documented on our methodology page.
Actual rents lodged here
Bonds lodged, June 2026Unlike the modelled figures above, these are the real median rents from every rental bond lodged with NSW Fair Trading in Hornsby — a typical 2-bedroom unit rents for $730/week.
| Bedrooms | Type | Median rent | Bonds lodged |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | unit | $600/wk | 16 |
| 2 | unit | $730/wk | 58 |
| 3 | house | $850/wk | 14 |
Source: NSW Fair Trading Rental Bond Board (CC BY 4.0), aggregated by postcode with at least 5 lodgements per figure. Updated monthly — see data sources.
Affordability by income
$60k income
Rent ($730/wk)
Over budget
Budget: $346/wk
Buy ($1.06M)
Repayments are a stretch
$5,108/mo · deposit in ~23.7yr
$90k income
Rent ($730/wk)
Over budget
Budget: $519/wk
Buy ($1.06M)
Repayments are a stretch
$5,108/mo · deposit in ~15.8yr
$120k income
Rent ($730/wk)
Over budget
Budget: $692/wk
Buy ($1.06M)
Repayments are a stretch
$5,108/mo · deposit in ~11.9yr
Based on 30% gross income rule for rent; 6% p.a. / 30-year P&I loan at 20% deposit for purchase; 15% savings rate for deposit timeline.
Upfront buying costs
| Purchase price | $1.06M |
| 20% deposit (no LMI) | $213k |
| Stamp duty (New South Wales) | $42k |
| Stamp duty (first home buyer) | Same — check eligibility |
| Conveyancing (est.) | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Building inspection (est.) | $400 – $700 |
| Total upfront (est.) | $258k |
Who lives here & what's nearby
Real figures for Hornsby — measured, not modelled.
How Hornsby compares
- Households here earn about 52% more than the typical suburb in New South Wales.
- Fewer owners than most of New South Wales — 59% own their home, against a 71% median.
- Younger than average — a median age of 38 vs 44 statewide.
- 39% of homes here are rented, against 25% across New South Wales — a rental market.
Demographics and tenure from the ABS 2021 Census; the socio-economic score is the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative disadvantage, scaled 0–100 against every Australian postcode; distances and school counts from OpenStreetMap. Comparisons are against the median suburb in New South Wales. Suburb-level price trends aren't shown because no open source publishes them reliably yet — see our data sources.
What's around Hornsby
Real places nearby — the little things that make a suburb feel like home.
- Beatrice Thompson Park400 m
- Lessing Park600 m
- Hornsby Park600 m
- Holman Park700 m
- Asquith Glof Club2.4 km
- Hornsby Library700 m
- Studio Artes400 m
- Hunter Street Community Centre400 m
- Hornsby Wellness Centre600 m
- Waitara First Girl Guides Hut1.0 km
Places within about 3 km, from OpenStreetMap contributors — distances as the crow flies. Something missing or moved? Tell us.
Get to know Hornsby
Real places to see and hear what living here is actually like.
Neighbourhood at a Glance
Indicative scores based on ABS Census data modelling. Always conduct your own research.
Related reading
Government schemes that may apply
First Home Guarantee (FHBG)
Buy with as little as 5% deposit, no LMI. Up to 35,000 places/year nationwide.
Learn more →First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)
New South Wales offers a grant for eligible first home buyers purchasing new builds. Amounts vary.
Learn more →First Home Super Saver (FHSS)
Save up to $50k inside super (taxed at 15% instead of marginal rate), then withdraw for a deposit.
Learn more →Stamp duty concessions
At Hornsby's median of $1,065,000, NSW's first home buyer concession has phased out — duty is about $42,112.
That median is modelled, not observed, and our modelled prices run low — treat the duty figure as indicative.
Learn more →Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
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Rent data for Hornsby sourced from the ABS 2021 Census, scaled by rental CPI to current values. Calculations use 30% gross income rule, 20% deposit, 6% p.a. loan rate over 30 years. Not financial advice.