Suburb guide · Bayside council area
Mortgage broker for Rockdale (2216) home buyers
Nepal is the most common overseas birthplace in Rockdale: 2,451 of its 15,475 residents were born there, and 61.3% of all residents were born outside Australia (ABS Census 2021). With 69.5% of homes in apartment buildings, most first purchases here are units; the median in postcode 2216 was $760,000 in January to March 2026. Our office isn't local: we meet Rockdale clients by phone or video, at morning, midday or evening times, seven days a week.
On this page
Who lives in Rockdale
- Residents
- 15,4755,592 occupied homesABS Census 2021
- Born overseas
- 61.3%Top birthplaces: Nepal, China, North MacedoniaABS Census 2021
- Born in Nepal
- 2,45115.8% of residentsABS Census 2021
- Speak Nepali at home
- 2,48616.1% of residentsABS Census 2021
- Arrived 2016 to 2021
- 19.8%3,058 people born overseasABS Census 2021
- Median age
- 342.6 people per householdABS Census 2021
- Median household income
- $1,906/wk$99,112 a yearABS Census 2021
- Households renting
- 47%27.4% mortgage, 22.3% owned outrightABS Census 2021
- Flats and apartments
- 69.5%24.3% separate houses, 4% semis and townhousesABS Census 2021
- Median rent, new leases
- $750/wkAll dwellings, postcode 2216NSW DCJ, April to June 2026
Rockdale sits entirely within Bayside council area and covers 2.44 km². Of the 26 NSW suburbs in our guides, Rockdale has the fourth-highest Nepal-born population (2,451) and the tenth-highest median household income ($1,906 a week). The median resident is 34 and the average household has 2.6 people. On Census day 19.4% of employed residents took a train to work, even though 26.4% worked from home in the August 2021 lockdown, so normal train use is higher.
What it costs to buy in Rockdale
In January to March 2026, the median strata sale (mostly units and townhouses) in postcode 2216 was $760,000 from 107 sales, and the median non-strata sale (mostly houses) was $2,025,000 from 31 sales. The step up from the median unit to the median house is $1,265,000. Against the median household income recorded here in 2021 ($99,112 a year), that is 7.7 times for a unit and 20.4 times for a house.
| Item | Median unit | Median house |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $760,000 | $2,025,000 |
| 5% deposit | $38,000 | $101,250 |
| 10% deposit | $76,000 | $202,500 |
| 20% deposit (no LMI) | $152,000 | $405,000 |
| Transfer duty, standard | $28,387 | $92,662 |
| Transfer duty, first home buyer | $0 | $92,662 |
| Registration fees | $365 | $365 |
| 5% Deposit Scheme cap ($1,500,000) | Under | Over |
| Cash needed, first home buyer, 10% deposit | $76,365 | $295,527 |
- Owner-occupier, established home, every scheme condition met. Cash needed excludes conveyancing and LMI. 2026-27 rules, checked 26 October 2026.
At $760,000, the median unit is under the $800,000 limit of the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, so an eligible first home buyer pays no transfer duty instead of $28,387. At $2,025,000 the median house is above the $1,000,000 cut-off, so a first home buyer pays the full $92,662.
With the scheme, a unit at the median needs only $38,000 down and no LMI. The median house is $525,000 above the $1,500,000 cap.
Try a price other than $760,000 in the NSW stamp duty calculator
Rent in Rockdale compared with buying
A renter signing a new lease in postcode 2216 in April to June 2026 paid a median $750 a week ($39,000 a year); DCJ counted 322 new bonds. By size, a two-bedroom unit leased for $730 a week and a three-bedroom house for $950.
The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $460 a week and a median mortgage repayment of $2,167 a month, 9% more than the median rent. Today's new-lease median is 63% above that 2021 rent. DCJ counts only new bonds and the Census counts every renting household, so read the gap as a direction, not an exact rise. In 2021, the median rent took 24% of the median household income.
Put another way, 51 weeks of today's median rent would cover a 5% deposit ($38,000) on the median unit. Renters are a large minority here (47% of households); 27.4% of homes have a mortgage and 22.3% are owned outright.
| Dwelling | Weekly | Yearly | New bonds |
|---|---|---|---|
| All dwellings | $750 | $39,000 | 322 |
| 1-bedroom unit | $640 | $33,280 | 59 |
| 2-bedroom unit | $730 | $37,960 | 175 |
| 3-bedroom unit (small sample) | $980 | $50,960 | 11 to 30 |
| House (all sizes) | $900 | $46,800 | 60 |
| 3-bedroom house (small sample) | $950 | $49,400 | 11 to 30 |
| 4+ bedroom house (small sample) | $1,400 | $72,800 | 11 to 30 |
- No interest rate is assumed: compare with your own rate in the repayments calculator.
Where we can help in Rockdale
Buyers from the Nepali community
Nepal-born residents number 2,451 here, 15.8% of the population, with 2,486 speaking Nepali at home. For many buyers part of the deposit comes from Nepal, so we check how each lender wants that money documented before it is transferred.
Nepali community home loans NPR to AUD converter
Buying soon after you arrive
Recent arrivals are a big group: 3,058 people came to Australia between 2016 and 2021, 32.3% of everyone here born overseas. Your visa changes the numbers: a temporary resident pays 9% surcharge purchaser duty, needs FIRB approval and is generally limited to new homes until 30 June 2029, while a permanent resident is treated much like a citizen. The surcharge alone is $68,400 on the median unit. Postcode 2216 is not a designated regional area, so a 491 or 494 holder bound by condition 8579 can't live here on that visa.
Visa guides: subclass 189, 190, 491, 482.
Owners with a mortgage
27.4% of Rockdale homes are owned with a mortgage, with a median repayment of $26,004 a year in 2021. Loans taken out before a move to permanent residency are often worth a second look. Refinancing
Units and strata
69.5% of homes are flats or apartments, and lender policies differ on units, for example on minimum floor area and high-density buildings. Get the strata report before you bid and send us the address so we can check lender policy for that building.
Nearby suburbs side by side
The nearest suburb we cover is Kogarah, 1.5 km away. Two of the five neighbours listed have a lower median unit price than Rockdale's $760,000. Hurstville has a larger Nepal-born community (4,938 people).
| Suburb | Distance | Born in Nepal | Median rent | Median unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockdale | — | 2,451 | $750/wk | $760,000 |
| Kogarah | 1.5 km | 1,848 | $750/wk | $810,000 |
| Carlton | 2.7 km | 590 | $700/wk | $838,000 |
| Allawah | 3.4 km | 653 | $700/wk | $838,000 |
| Hurstville | 4 km | 4,938 | $750/wk | $740,000 |
| Penshurst | 5.4 km | 1,096 | $630/wk | $735,000 |
- Born in Nepal: ABS Census 2021. Rent and unit price: NSW DCJ, latest quarter.
See buying in Kogarah, home prices in Carlton or home prices in Allawah. All NSW suburb guides
Questions about buying in Rockdale
How much stamp duty would a first home buyer pay on a median Rockdale unit?
None, if you qualify for the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme: the $760,000 median unit is under the exemption limit. Other buyers pay $28,387. Checked against Revenue NSW on 26 October 2026.
What deposit do I need to buy in Rockdale?
For the median unit ($760,000): $38,000 at 5%, $76,000 at 10% or $152,000 at 20%. The median house needs $405,000 for 20%. Below 20%, expect LMI unless you use the 5% Deposit Scheme or a guarantor.
Can I use the 5% Deposit Scheme in Rockdale?
The median unit ($760,000) is $740,000 under the $1,500,000 cap. The median house ($2,025,000) is $525,000 over the $1,500,000 cap. You must be a citizen or permanent resident and a first home buyer.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Rockdale?
That depends on the rate you are offered, so we don't assume one. New leases in postcode 2216 cost a median $39,000 a year; in 2021 the median mortgage here cost $26,004 a year in repayments.
Can I buy in Rockdale on a 491 visa?
Only once you move to the permanent 191. Until then condition 8579 keeps you in a designated regional area, and postcode 2216 is not one.
Talk it through with Sulav
Sulav checks your deposit, income and visa against lender policy for a unit around $760,000, in a 60-minute call by phone or video.
Sources
Data last updated . Census figures are for 2021; DCJ figures are quarterly medians.
- ABS QuickStats 2021: Rockdale (SAL13394)
- ABS Census 2021 tables for SAL13394
- ASGS Edition 3 boundaries
- Rent and Sales Report, sales January to March 2026
- Rent and Sales Report, rents April to June 2026
- Transfer duty rates
- First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (new or existing home)
- 5% Deposit Scheme price caps
- Regional postcodes (condition 8579)
- Established dwelling ban