Clovelly, NSW 2031

A small beachside suburb in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, about 8 km south-east of the CBD within Randwick City Council, with 4,887 residents at the 2021 census. Originally 'Little Coogee', renamed Clovelly in 1913, it retains what Randwick City Council's local history describes as 'a prestigious and secluded village-like vibe', nestled in a steep cove of Sydney sandstone. The suburb is built around Clovelly Bay — a narrow, sheltered ocean inlet that is one of Sydney's most protected swimming and snorkelling spots — and its housing is higher-density than the Australian norm, with 72.6% of dwellings being units, flats, semi-detached, terraces or townhouses. Property platforms and local agents describe a family beachside feel that is 'the final destination' for many Eastern Suburbs families: affluent, safe and community-focused, without the transient tourist crowds of Bondi, with Clovelly Public School rated among the state's best primaries (Realsearch; Rose & Jones).

At a Glance

Transport

Public transport in Clovelly is entirely bus-based — there is no railway station, light rail stop or ferry wharf in the suburb. Buses run along Clovelly Road and nearby streets, led by route 339, which links Clovelly with Central Station in the CBD (a loop service via Foveaux Street, operated on the Sydney Buses Network). Randwick City Council and transit apps note the suburb's hilly terrain and narrow beachside streets, and Realsearch rates Clovelly's transport as 'poor — bus-only service with long commute times to the CBD during peak hours' (Realsearch). The nearest rail alternatives are the CBD–Randwick light rail at Randwick (beyond the suburb's western boundary) and Bondi Junction train station to the north, both requiring a connecting bus (Realsearch nearby-suburb comparison).

Schools

Clovelly Public School — the NSW government K–6 primary serving the suburb, located on Arden Street at Clovelly's north-west edge (postal address Waverley NSW 2024), whose official catchment covers Clovelly and surrounding areas and which is rated one of the state's highest-performing primaries (NSW Department of Education school site; SchoolRank; Realsearch). Government secondary students from Clovelly are zoned to Randwick Boys' High School and Randwick Girls' High School in the neighbouring suburb of Randwick — the Randwick high-school catchment officially covers Clovelly, Coogee and Bondi Junction. Several independent and Catholic schools sit within reach in adjacent suburbs, but no private campus is in Clovelly itself (Realsearch school scorecard).

Shopping & Amenities

Clovelly has four small shopping precincts all on or near Clovelly Road, the largest at the corner of Fern Street and Clovelly Road, which includes a post office, community bank, chemist, newsagent and bottle shop. The Clovelly Hotel — the suburb's beachside pub, built on part of the former Mundarrah Towers estate with coastal views on leased public land bordering Waverley Cemetery — anchors the village's hospitality scene, alongside local cafes and the clifftop Clovelly Bowling Club (lawn bowls and bocce). For supermarkets and bigger retail, residents head to neighbouring Randwick, Coogee or Bondi Junction; services such as aged care sit nearby in adjacent Bronte (Realsearch; Andrea Monti suburb data).

Parks & Outdoors

Clovelly Beach — a small, tranquil beach at the mouth of a narrow bay between two rocky ridges, located between Bronte Beach to the north and Gordon's Bay to the south; its calm, protected waters make it popular with families, swimmers and snorkellers, with concrete platforms and promenades on both sides of the bay for sunbaking. The beachside strip includes the Geoff James ocean pool and easy access to Gordon's Bay at Clovelly's southern end, a renowned scuba-diving spot on the coastal rock platform. The Bondi–Coogee coastal walk passes through Clovelly, linking the suburb with Bronte to the north and Coogee to the south along the cliff tops, and Clovelly Bowling Club sits on a scenic clifftop above the bay.

Property Market

The median house price in Clovelly was around ~$5.1–6.7M range across trackers: Realsearch estimated a $5,150,000 median house price (Mar 2026); buyer's-agent data (Andrea Monti, Aug 2026) put the median at $6,120,414 (+12.6% over 12 months); realestate.com.au's Clovelly suburb data quoted a $6,710,000 median for houses over the past 12 months (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Clovelly sits at a genuine premium for a beachside eastern-suburbs village but medians swing with low sales volumes: houses are only ~25% of the dwelling stock (46.3% flats/apartments, 26.3% semi/townhouses, ABS 2021), so each house sale moves the median — hence the $5.1M–$6.7M spread between trackers (Realsearch; Andrea Monti; ABS via Andrea Monti). Real-estate data vendors record 12-month house growth of roughly +12–13% to mid-2026, 42% cumulative 5-year growth (Realsearch) and a very tight rental market (vacancy ~1.4% Realsearch; 2.07% Andrea Monti), with houses renting at ~$1,950+/week. Demand is driven by affluent families — 43.3% of employed residents were professionals at the 2021 census and median household income was $3,092/week, far above the NSW median — attracted by the protected beach, village feel and Clovelly Public's reputation (ABS 2021 via Andrea Monti). New supply is minimal: zoning and heritage/height controls restrict change to individual site redevelopments and duplex conversions (Realsearch; Andrea Monti building-approval data).

New Developments

Very limited — Clovelly is a fully built-out coastal suburb where no large-scale residential development is planned within the suburb itself due to zoning restrictions, with activity confined to individual site redevelopments and 'duplexing' of larger lots under strict heritage and height controls (Realsearch). Randwick Council building-approval data shows the suburb's own approvals are negligible (the last 18 months' approvals are published only at SA2 level, where new supply around the surrounding 5 km represents just 0.5% of existing dwellings) and development applications across the wider area fell about 25% in the year to mid-2026 (Andrea Monti). A rare current example of new coastal supply: 40 Melrose Parade — a DA-approved conversion of a beachside house into three whole-floor luxury apartments, guided at $5.8M and auctioning Sep 2026 (Realsearch listing).

Jobs & Local Economy

Clovelly's own employment base is small — village retail and hospitality along Clovelly Road (shops, cafes, the Clovelly Hotel) plus the Clovelly Bowling Club. Residents are overwhelmingly professionals working in finance, professional/scientific/technical services, healthcare and education — 43.3% of employed residents were professionals at the 2021 census, against a NSW average of 25.8%, with the suburb's top industries including Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (19.3% of residents), Financial & Insurance Services (9.6%), Education & Training (8.2%) and Retail Trade (5.1%) (ABS 2021 via Andrea Monti). Many commute to the Sydney CBD or to major nearby employers such as UNSW and the Randwick health and education precinct (Prince of Wales Hospital), given the suburb's position between the city, Randwick and Coogee.

Nearby Suburbs

Coogee, Randwick, Bronte, Waverley, Queens Park

Sources & method

Researched 4 September 2026 from named public sources — census and government records, transport authorities, council and planning documents — plus published sales data. Where sources disagree on a figure, the guide says so rather than picking one.

Sources cited in this guide:

• Wikipedia — Clovelly
• NSW Government

Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

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