Bushland semi-rural suburb about 28 km north of the Sydney CBD in Northern Beaches Council, considered part of both the Northern Beaches region and the Forest District. One of the smallest and most secluded suburbs in the area: just 509 residents at the 2021 census spread over roughly 4.6–5.2 square kilometres of native bushland at about 184 m elevation. Named after Patrick Duffy, a timber cutter granted land here in 1857, the suburb is known for acreage homes, privacy, bushland and an equestrian lifestyle, with the tiny Duffys Forest village and Terrey Hills shops on its doorstep.
At a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Beaches |
| Council (LGA) | Northern Beaches Council |
| Postcode | 2084 |
| Distance to Sydney CBD | No direct CBD bus from inside the suburb: residents connect at stops in adjacent Terrey Hills or along Mona Vale Road.… |
| Median house price | ~$2.8–3.0M (2026): OnTheHouse's Cotality AVM puts the median house value at $2,841,772, while buyer's-agent tracker andreamonti.com.au records a median house value of $2,793,000 (median price $2,958,147) as of August 2026 with a −16.4% 12-month change; acreage listings trade far higher, with auspropertyfinder quoting a $6.56M median acreage price (mid-2026) |
| Median unit price | No meaningful unit market — Duffys Forest is a rural acreage suburb (population 509) with negligible unit stock… |
| Typical rent | No reliable rental median — rental listings in Duffys Forest are rare given the tiny… |
| Price growth | −16.4% 12-month median house change to August 2026 per andreamonti.com.au — highly volatile because sales volumes are tiny in a… |
Transport
Public transport is bus-based — Duffys Forest has no railway station, light rail or ferry. Buses run along the Mona Vale Road corridor on the suburb's edge: route 196 connects Mona Vale and Gordon via Terrey Hills, and route 270's city service terminates at Terrey Hills — its last stop at Myoora Road before Booralie Road sits on Duffys Forest's eastern border — with route 271 also linking nearby Belrose to the city. No bus route runs through the suburb's interior, so residents walk or drive to stops in adjacent Terrey Hills or along Mona Vale Road.
Schools
Duffys Forest has no government school. Its only in-suburb school is AGBU Alexander Primary School — an independent, co-educational bilingual English and Armenian Christian primary at 2 Namba Road, Duffys Forest, set in the bushland. The nearest government primary is Terrey Hills Public School in adjacent Terrey Hills, a NSW government K–6 school on Tooronga Road. There is no high school in the suburb or its immediate neighbour Terrey Hills, so secondary students travel further out.
Shopping & Amenities
Very limited local retail: the historic Duffys Forest village area on the suburb's edge centres on McCarrs — a neighbourhood restaurant, general store, bakery and event space at 205 Mona Vale Road on the Duffys Forest/Terrey Hills boundary, immediately adjacent to the suburb (McCarrs website). The heritage-listed Waratah Park Earth Sanctuary, the former film set of the TV series Skippy, is in the suburb at 13 Namba Road. Everyday shopping is done in adjacent Terrey Hills, including the Hills Marketplace cluster of local businesses on Mona Vale Road (Hills Marketplace).
Parks & Outdoors
Bushland on all sides: the suburb's northern and western boundaries back directly onto Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, which wraps around Duffys Forest on two sides. The 'Duffys Forest Ecological Community' is itself listed as an endangered ecological community of the Sydney basin. Waratah Park Earth Sanctuary at 13 Namba Road is heritage-listed and historically a popular bushland tourist attraction. Local data counts 7 parks covering nearly 25.8% of the suburb's area, most of it native bushland reserves.
Property Market
The median house price in Duffys Forest was around ~$2.8–3.0M (2026): OnTheHouse's Cotality AVM puts the median house value at $2,841,772, while buyer's-agent tracker andreamonti.com.au records a median house value of $2,793,000 (median price $2,958,147) as of August 2026 with a −16.4% 12-month change; acreage listings trade far higher, with auspropertyfinder quoting a $6.56M median acreage price (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Medians here swing sharply with single sales: with only a few hundred residents and very few transactions a year, tracker medians range from roughly $2.79M–$2.96M while dedicated acreage listings can exceed that substantially (auspropertyfinder's acreage median of $6.56M reflects large bushland holdings). The suburb is a prestige acreage market — detached homes on large bushland blocks, many with equestrian facilities. Buyers should treat any single 'median' figure with caution (low-volume suburb; sources above).
New Developments
Minimal by design: bushland zoning and national-park boundaries leave almost no room for growth, and development is limited to acreage subdivisions, rural sheds, equestrian infrastructure and house extensions consistent with the semi-rural character (inthesuburbs suburb profile; bestschools.com.au). No major residential developments exist or are planned in the suburb.
Jobs & Local Economy
Employment is tied to the semi-rural character: equestrian pursuits, horticulture and small rural businesses, plus the heritage/tourism draw of Waratah Park, while the McCarrs village precinct provides hospitality roles at the suburb's edge. Census data shows very high incomes — median household income of $3,496/week in 2016 — reflecting owners in professional and CBD occupations, many working remotely. Commercial clusters in adjacent Terrey Hills (e.g. the Hills Marketplace on Mona Vale Road) offer local retail employment just across the border (Hills Marketplace).
Nearby Suburbs
Terrey Hills
Sources & method
Researched 5 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:
Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
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