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Forster - Tuncurry property market: the official numbers

The official read on Forster - Tuncurry, NSW: who lives there, what they pay in rent and repayments, and where the jobs are. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.

The straight answer

Median rent in Forster - Tuncurry was $330 a week at the 2021 Census — 12% below the national median. The typical rent ($1,430/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($1,571/mo). Cashflow territory.

The key numbers

21,087
people (Census 2021)
59
median age
$330/wk
median rent
$1,571/mo
median mortgage repayment
$960/wk
median household income

The typical repayment ran at about 38% of the median household income. One caveat before you compare: everything here is August 2021. Repayments in particular have jumped since the 2022–24 rate rises. Treat these as a ranking tool, not a price tag.

Rent against the repayment

At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,430 against a typical mortgage repayment of $1,571:

Typical rent$1,430/moTypical mortgage repayment$1,571/mo
What this gap does and doesn't tell you

The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?

How Forster - Tuncurry houses itself

Owned outright 49.5%Mortgage 18.7%Rented 26.3%

Renters are 26.3% of Forster - Tuncurry households. If you're buying to let, that's the depth of your market — about the national norm.

Who calls Forster - Tuncurry home

0–1412.0%15–247.6%25–4415.2%45–6424.8%65+40.3%
What the age mix means for housing

A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Forster - Tuncurry's median age of 59 sits above the national median of 38.

What the local economy runs on

Health care21.0%Retail trade12.9%Hospitality12.0%Construction9.7%Education & training8.6%

health care & social assistance employs 21.0% of Forster - Tuncurry's 6,986 workers (Census 2021). Local housing demand rises and falls with it.

The upfront costs in NSW

We don't republish licensed price feeds, so for today's sale prices check a licensed source. The costs of buying, though, are public and exact:

Questions people ask

What is the median rent in Forster - Tuncurry?

At the 2021 Census the median rent in Forster - Tuncurry was $330 a week — 12% below the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.

How many people live in Forster - Tuncurry?

21,087 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 59 (national median: 38). Forster - Tuncurry is one of New South Wales's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.

What do people in Forster - Tuncurry do for work?

The biggest employing industry is health care & social assistance, followed by retail trade (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.

The verdict

Your call

On the census shape, Forster - Tuncurry suits the cashflow buyer: the typical rent ($1,430/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($1,571/mo). It's a weaker fit for anyone banking on scarcity to do the work. One employer story dominates — health care & social assistance is 21.0% of local jobs. When it hires, housing tightens; when it stops, you'll feel it.

Whatever you do, check the things the census can't show: today's asking rents, vacancy and days on market in Forster - Tuncurry. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the New South Wales stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.

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General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Forster - Tuncurry, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.