Sydney is renowned for its high cost of living, making it challenging for many, especially younger families, to afford home ownership.
Despite the Sydney basin covering approximately 12,400 km², only 14% of this land—around 3,450 km²—is available for housing.
With a population of about 5.3 million people to house, the total available area equates to roughly 651 m² of housing land per person.
Most residents prefer to live near shopping and transport hubs, where they have convenient access to goods, services, and public transport options like trains. This proximity allows people to travel quickly and efficiently, making these locations highly desirable, but it also means that a lot more people need to squeeze into a smaller portion of land area.
The State Government has responded to this problem by introducing planning reforms aimed at increasing housing density around town centres and transport hubs - thereby allowing more people to be housed around these popular centres.
Specifically, 171 town centres and transport hubs across Sydney have been designated to accommodate more people through higher-density housing.
This initiative, known as the Low & Mid Rise Housing Policy, was implemented in two stages:
Stage 1 (Low Rise Housing) commenced in July 2024.
Stage 2 (Mid Rise Housing) began in February 2025.
What Is the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy?
In February 2025, the NSW Government completed stage 2 of its Low & Mid-Rise Housing Policy. This update expanded the ‘Low-Rise’ provisions originally introduced in July 2024 to now include a ‘Mid-Rise’ component.
The policy covers a range of housing types, all grouped under either ‘Low-Rise’ or ‘Mid-Rise’ designations:
Low-Rise:
Covers buildings up to 9.5 metres in height (typically two storeys).
Includes housing types such as dual occupancies, terraces, and manor houses.
Mid-Rise:
Applies to residential flat buildings and Shop Top Housing up to 22 metres tall (about six storeys).
The State Government’s key objectives for this policy are to:
Boost housing supply in Sydney and select regional areas.
Help improve housing affordability by increasing available stock.
Address the ‘missing middle’—housing that sits between standalone family homes and large apartment buildings.
Provide higher-density apartment living within 400 metres of designated town centres, and lower-density options (like dual occupancies, terraces, and manor houses) between 400 and 800 metres from these centres.
What the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy Means for the Northern Beaches
The Northern Beaches is one of the most pleasant places in Sydney to raise a family. There are many beaches, parks and facilities for families, but the price of owning a home has put the Northern Beaches out of reach for many young families. The lower cost option of apartments is limited and most were built in the 1960’s -1970’s era, with small internal areas and generally a single bathroom.
The NSW Government has addressed this problem on the Northern Beaches by designating 9 Town Centres for development under Low & Mid Rise Housing.
These include:
Balgowlah Stockland Shopping Centre
Dee Why Town Centre
Forestville Town Centre
Forestway Shopping Centre
Frenchs Forest Precinct (Warringah Road)
Manly Town Centre
Manly Vale Town Centre
Mona Vale Town Centre
Warringah Mall Shopping Centre
Correctly zoned houses within 800 meters walking distance of the Town Centres are potentially available for Low Rise housing.
Is Your Property in a LMR Area?
An initial search for your address on the mapping tool provided by Planning NSW will show if your home is in the LMR area for your Town centre, but this is only an arbitrary indication. Thorn Property is able to give you a clear indication of whether your home will support Low or Mid Rise housing and how it will affect your property value.
A map of the Northern Beaches showing LMR areas. Click the image to view the interactive map.
How the Policy Works with Council Planning Controls
In some instances, the Low and Mid Rise Housing Policy can over-ride a local council’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP), but the local council will still have a lot of sway over final approvals.
It’s best to seek professional advice if you are hoping to develop your own site, or, if you are interested in cashing out, to consider selling to a developer who has a team and the experience to navigate the appropriate regulatory pathways.
Thorn Property can advise on the sales price increases available to you if you were to consider a sale to a developer. We will be able to broker a sale of your property to our database of over 700 developers or market your home to the development community via our marketing and advertising channels.
If you wish to discuss the opportunity of selling your property and obtain a free Development Site Assessment, please call Mark Thorn on 0419 989 923 or email mark@thornproperty.com.au
Are There Any Exemptions or Restrictions?
As with every new planning policy, the ‘devil is in the detail’. There are many factors that come into play when assessing whether a site can be developed and is feasible for development (either by a developer or an owner). These factors are not readily accessible. For instance, there are bushfire, flood, heritage and many other overlays to consider prior to giving the green light for an LMR development.
Then there’s assessing whether the project is feasible from a cost/benefit perspective. This has to take into account the building, consultants’ financing and selling costs against the potential selling price.
Thorn Property has the tools, knowledge and experience to guide owners through the pros and cons of the decision to either sell, develop or hold..
What This Means for Homeowners and Investors
If you own a property that is in the LMR for your local Town Centre, the resale value of your property may have been affected positively by around 10-14%.
If your neighbours on either side are interested in combining with you in a sale, this may improve the yield and therefore result in slightly better sale prices.
As always, your first port of call before considering a development or selling to a developer is to speak to the professionals in this area. Your local real estate agent may not be the best person to advise you unless they are well established in development sales – especially Low and Mid Rise Housing.
What Comes Next for the Northern Beaches?
The Northern Beaches is a great place to bring up a family. However, with property prices and rents at an all time high from an affordability perspective, there needs to be an alternative way for young families to get into the market on the Northern Beaches.
Thorn Property has a plan we call SKIP (Securing Kids In Property) which sets out a way for parents of adults to help their sons and daughters to get into a new LMR property at a 50-60% discount.
Looking to Buy or Sell Rezoned Land on the Northern Beaches?
At Thorn Property, we specialise in helping buyers and sellers navigate the opportunities created by planning reforms like the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy. Whether you're looking to purchase rezoned land for development or want to understand what your property is now worth, our local expertise and market insight can guide your next move.
Contact Thorn Property today to unlock the full potential of rezoned land on the Northern Beaches.
PHONE: 0419 989 923
EMAIL: mark@thornproperty.com.au