Wollongong sits 80 kilometres south of Sydney, with house medians from $870,000 in Berkeley to $1,890,000 in Thirroul. To find the best suburbs for investors, we tested all 29 suburbs in the Wollongong and Shellharbour council areas with 50 or more house sales. Thirteen passed on both price and yield.
Their medians run from $870,000 to $1,045,000, with yields from 3.73% to 4.77%. For comparison, the suburb of Wollongong itself, around the city centre, yields 3.05%.
How We Tested 29 Suburbs
We started with every suburb across the Wollongong and Shellharbour council areas and pulled the house figures for each. The figures are Cotality’s (formerly CoreLogic), published by Your Investment Property. Medians and sales cover the 12 months to 31 August 2026, and rents run to 31 October 2026. We worked out every yield ourselves as weekly rent times 52, divided by the median, so our figures can differ from the yields Your Investment Property displays.
Twenty-nine suburbs had 50 or more house sales. Below that, a single unusual sale can move the median too far. Each suburb then had to pass two tests:
- Price: a house median at or below $1,060,000, the median of the 29.
- Yield: a gross yield at or above 3.73%, also the median of the 29.
Wollongong’s Market Now
The 12-month price changes in this post run to August 2026. Since then, regional NSW has turned down. Cotality’s index for regional NSW fell 0.7% in October and 2.1% over the three months to October (Cotality). Cotality doesn’t publish a separate Illawarra index.
The rental market has eased a little but is still tight. SQM Research put the Wollongong region’s vacancy rate at 1.14% in September 2026, up from 0.77% in March, against 1.39% nationally (SQM Research). Several postcodes covering the suburbs that passed are tighter. They include 2526 (Unanderra) at 0.40%, 2528 (Warilla, Barrack Heights and Mount Warrigal) at 0.51% and 2529 (Oak Flats) at 0.69%.
The 13 Suburbs That Passed
The table is ordered by price. Days on market is the average over the 12 months to August.
| Suburb | House median | Rent/wk | Gross yield | Sales | Days on market | 12-month change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | $870,000 | $678 | 4.05% | 112 | 17 | +9.19% |
| Dapto | $875,000 | $680 | 4.04% | 159 | 20 | +7.21% |
| Albion Park Rail | $879,000 | $700 | 4.14% | 84 | 16 | +7.20% |
| Warrawong | $900,500 | $660 | 3.81% | 56 | 33 | +10.15% |
| Tullimbar | $910,000 | $835 | 4.77% | 124 | 35 | +5.81% |
| Warilla | $912,500 | $690 | 3.93% | 72 | 19 | +7.48% |
| Lake Heights | $925,500 | $680 | 3.82% | 70 | 28 | +5.77% |
| Mount Warrigal | $940,000 | $735 | 4.07% | 69 | 26 | +2.73% |
| Barrack Heights | $943,000 | $700 | 3.86% | 73 | 19 | +9.97% |
| Unanderra | $950,000 | $700 | 3.83% | 65 | 20 | +9.83% |
| Albion Park | $970,135 | $750 | 4.02% | 188 | 28 | +9.93% |
| Horsley | $999,000 | $780 | 4.06% | 140 | 22 | +13.52% |
| Oak Flats | $1,045,000 | $750 | 3.73% | 100 | 22 | +16.11% |
Oak Flats sits exactly on the yield line, since its 3.73% is the median of the group. Its 16.11% rise over the year was the biggest of the 13.
Albion Park and Shellharbour Suburbs
Seven of the 13 are in the Shellharbour council area: Albion Park, Albion Park Rail, Tullimbar, Mount Warrigal, Warilla, Barrack Heights and Oak Flats. Tullimbar has the highest yield of the 29, at 4.77% on a $910,000 median with an $835 weekly rent. It’s a newer estate with land still being released, which is part of why houses there took 35 days to sell. New stock nearby will compete for the same tenants, so we’d lean towards the established suburbs on this list.
Albion Park had 188 house sales, more than any other suburb we tested. Houses there yield 4.02% on a $970,135 median. Albion Park Rail, next door, has the second-highest yield at 4.14% on an $879,000 median, and its houses sold in 16 days, the fastest of the 13.
Mount Warrigal passes on a 4.07% yield but grew only 2.73% over the year, the smallest rise of the 13. Warilla, on the edge of Lake Illawarra, yields 3.93%, with Barrack Heights next door at 3.86%. Houses in both sold in 19 days on average.
Berkeley, Dapto and Unanderra
These three sit along the southern rail corridor between the Illawarra Escarpment and Lake Illawarra. Unanderra and Dapto both have stations on the South Coast line.
Berkeley has the cheapest median of the 29 at $870,000, with a 4.05% yield on a $678 weekly rent. Dapto is only $5,000 dearer, at $875,000. It yields 4.04%. With 159 sales, it’s the second-busiest house market we tested. Unanderra passed at $950,000 with a 3.83% yield and a 9.83% rise over the year.
Horsley, in the West Dapto area, yields 4.06% on a $999,000 median. Its 13.52% rise over the year was the second-biggest of the 13.
Warrawong and Lake Heights
Warrawong and Lake Heights sit between Lake Illawarra and BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks. BlueScope employs around 3,000 people directly in the Illawarra and supports about 10,000 local jobs (BlueScope).
Warrawong’s $900,500 median grew 10.15% over the year. Lake Heights grew 5.77%. Both took 28 days or more to sell, slower than Berkeley, Dapto and Unanderra. These two suburbs lean on the steelworks more than most, so any job cuts there would likely show up here first.
Affordable Suburbs Grew Faster
We split the 29 suburbs by their current median, with the 14 cheapest in one half and the 15 dearest in the other. Over the five years to August 2026, the more affordable half grew at a median of 7.11% a year. The dearer half grew at 6.37%.
Compounded, that’s about 41% over five years against 36%. The cheaper half did better, but by much less than in Ipswich, where it grew 144% over five years against 106%. We’ve seen the same in most cities, with affordable markets pulling ahead because more buyers can get in.
At the other end are the northern beach suburbs. Thirroul ($1,890,000) grew 3.91% a year over the five years, the slowest of the 29. Bulli ($1,850,000) grew 4.28% and yields 2.88%.
Suburbs That Just Missed
Farmborough Heights is the closest call. Its $1,060,000 median sits exactly on the price line. Its yield also rounds to 3.73%, but it sits a fraction under Oak Flats, whose yield is the median. A rent of $761 a week instead of $760 would have passed it. Houses there sold in 14 days on average, the quickest of all 29 suburbs.
Kanahooka rose 12.00% over the year and passes on price at $980,000, but its 3.71% yield falls just short. It would need about $704 a week in rent to pass, against $700 now.
Calderwood yields 3.92% but fails on price at $1,128,000. It’s a newer estate still releasing land. Over five years it grew 9.70% a year, the fastest of the 29.
What to Check Before You Buy
New supply. Calderwood and Tullimbar are estates still releasing land, and Shell Cove adds houses, townhouses and apartments around its marina. Our land supply analysis explains why established suburbs with little spare land tend to hold value better.
Steel and employment. The south of the region leans most on BlueScope. The University of Wollongong and Wollongong Hospital are also big employers, so the city isn’t relying on steel alone. The NSW Government is putting $220 million into planning a future expansion of the hospital, and a lead design team was appointed in June 2026 (NSW Health).
Cash flow. Say you borrow 80% on an interest-only loan at 6.4%, the RBA’s average for new variable investor loans in September 2026 (RBA table F6). On Berkeley’s $870,000 median, the interest comes to about $857 a week against a $678 rent. That’s a gap of about $179 a week, before council rates, insurance and management. That September average doesn’t yet include the rises of 29 September and 3 November. At 6.9%, the gap grows to about $246 a week. What an investment property costs per week has the full breakdown.
Local knowledge. If you live in Sydney, Wollongong is close enough to inspect in person, which most interstate purchases aren’t. Flood zones, building limits near the escarpment and council planning vary street by street. Get a building and pest inspection on every property.
Investing in Wollongong in 2026
Wollongong is a university and steel city with a rental market that’s still tight. Thirteen suburbs passed our tests, with yields from 3.73% to 4.77% and medians from $870,000. Rent doesn’t cover the interest on a median house in any of them, so you’d be buying for growth and yield and topping up the cash flow each week.
For higher yields, Cairns suburbs reach 5.67% at medians from $550,000. For a cheaper entry, Ballarat starts at $513,500. Our Wollongong buyers agent page covers how we work in the region.
Data sources. Five-year growth is Cotality’s compound annual rate to August 2026, published by Your Investment Property. Vacancy is SQM Research for September 2026. All figures were pulled on 6 and 7 November 2026.
This is general information only and not financial advice. Speak to a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
If you want a Wollongong house picked for yield and growth, book a free discovery call.
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