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City of SydneyCommunity profile

City of Sydney

Dwelling type

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In the City of Sydney, 97.0% of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 46% in Greater Sydney.

Dwelling Type is an important determinant of the City of Sydney's residential role and function. A greater concentration of higher density dwellings is likely to attract more young adults and smaller households, often renting. Larger, detached or separate dwellings are more likely to attract families and prospective families. The residential built form often reflects market opportunities or planning policy, such as building denser forms of housing around public transport nodes or employment centres.

Dwelling Type statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Household Types, Housing Tenure and Age Structure for a more complete picture of the housing market in the City of Sydney.

If you're looking at this data to prepare a housing strategy, learn more here.

Q:

Derived from the Census:

'Dwelling Structure is derived from the ABS address register supplemented with information from Census Field Officers.'

Dwelling structure
City of Sydney - Dwellings (Enumerated)20212016Change
Dwelling typeNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2016 to 2021
Separate house2,3771.953.42,0401.955.0+337
Medium density24,57119.918.823,84821.820.3+723
High density95,23977.127.181,64874.623.5+13,591
Caravans, cabin, houseboat0--0.1170.00.2-17
Other7770.60.41,2071.10.5-430
Not stated5440.40.27330.70.4-189
Total Private Dwellings123,508100.0100.0109,493100.0100.0+14,015
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Dwelling type
City of Sydney20212016Change
Dwelling typeNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2016 to 2021
Occupied private dwellings104,78784.491.998,00189.192.5+6,786
Unoccupied private dwellings18,73315.17.911,49610.47.3+7,237
Non private dwellings5960.50.15370.50.2+59
Total dwellings124,116100.0100.0110,034100.0100.0+14,082
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

In 2021, there were 2,377 separate houses in the area, 24,571 medium density dwellings, and 95,239 high density dwellings.

Analysis of the types of dwellings in the City of Sydney in 2021 shows that 1.9% of all dwellings were separate houses; 19.9% were medium density dwellings, and 77.1% were in high density dwellings, compared with 53.4%, 18.8%, and 27.1% in the Greater Sydney respectively.

In 2021, a total of 84.4% of the dwellings in the City of Sydney were occupied on Census night, compared to 91.9% in Greater Sydney. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 15.1%, which is larger compared to that found in Greater Sydney (7.9%).

Emerging groups

The total number of dwellings in the City of Sydney increased by 14,082 between 2016 and 2021.

The largest changes in the type of dwellings found in the City of Sydney between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • High density (+13,591 dwellings)
  • Medium density (+723 dwellings)
  • Other (-430 dwellings)
  • Separate house (+337 dwellings)

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