Surf-and-lagoon suburb on Sydney's Northern Beaches, 25 km north of the CBD, lying on the northern shores of Narrabeen Lagoon with Warriewood to the north, Elanora Heights to the west and the ocean at Narrabeen Head to the east — a low-key, water-centred community of families and surfers that clusters around the lake edge and the beach break at the lagoon entrance. At the 2021 census it had 6,016 residents and the housing stock is overwhelmingly detached — houses make up about 94% of listings, with little large-scale apartment development — giving the suburb a settled, tightly held, multi-generational character that appeals to long-term buyers.
At a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Beaches |
| Council (LGA) | Northern Beaches Council |
| Postcode | 2101 |
| Distance to Sydney CBD | Roughly 45–55 minutes by bus: the B1 B-Line express from the Narrabeen/Warriewood stops on Pittwater Road reaches Wynyard in the CBD in… |
| Median house price | ≈$2.2M–$2.35M on mid-2026 trackers: $2,227,000 median house price over the last 12 months (NSW Valuer General sales data via auspropertyfinder, retrieved Sep 2026); stmate cites an overall median of ~$2.34m with median sale prices of $2.23m (3-bed), $2.34m (4-bed) and $2.90m (5+ bed) (mid-2026) |
| Median unit price | ~$935,000 (apartment median, auspropertyinsights); apartment stock is scarce — houses are roughly 94% of current listings (stmate) |
| Typical rent | $1,100/week median house rent (NSW DCJ rental-bonds data via auspropertyfinder); stmate reports typical asking rents around $1,450/week |
| Price growth | +7.6% over the previous 12 months (auspropertyfinder, NSW Valuer General sales); stmate describes recent momentum of ~9.4% while one 2026… |
Transport
Buses on Pittwater Road are the only public transport — North Narrabeen has no railway station, light rail or ferry. The B1 B-Line express (Mona Vale–Wynyard, launched November 2017) runs along the Pittwater Road corridor with nearby stops at Narrabeen and Warriewood, and local routes including the 199 Mona Vale–Manly service pass through the suburb.
Schools
Narrabeen Sports High School — NSW government co-educational comprehensive and specialist sports secondary school at 10 Namona Street, North Narrabeen — sits within the suburb. Narrabeen North Public School, the NSW government primary school (K–6) also in North Narrabeen, is the local public primary for North Narrabeen and neighbouring Warriewood alike.
Shopping & Amenities
North Narrabeen's amenity is village-scale: a small shopping strip along Pittwater Road — the subject of a Northern Beaches Council 'North Narrabeen shops' upgrade project, where locals' top priorities were outdoor seating, cleanliness and street trees — plus a handful of cafes near the lagoon such as The Melting Room on Lake Park Road, and the NRMA Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park on the lagoon foreshore. The larger Narrabeen town centre sits immediately across the lagoon bridge in the adjacent suburb of Narrabeen.
Parks & Outdoors
The suburb's eastern and southern edges are water: Narrabeen Lagoon and the Narrabeen Lagoon State Park offer bushwalking, kayaking and wildlife on the suburb's doorstep. The 8.4 km Narrabeen Lagoon Trail — completed as an uninterrupted circuit in 2015 when its final section opened — rings the lagoon and passes Berry Reserve on the lagoon's eastern (North Narrabeen) shore, a foreshore park recently upgraded with public toilets, picnic tables, a playground, basketball court and barbecues. North Narrabeen Beach, the ocean beach at the lagoon's entrance with its rock pool at the northern end near Narrabeen Head, is patrolled by North Narrabeen Surf Life Saving Club; Wikipedia notes the beach and club sit immediately across the lagoon entrance channel within neighbouring Narrabeen, directly adjacent to the suburb.
Property Market
The median house price in North Narrabeen was around ≈$2.2M–$2.35M on mid-2026 trackers: $2,227,000 median house price over the last 12 months (NSW Valuer General sales data via auspropertyfinder, retrieved Sep 2026); stmate cites an overall median of ~$2.34m with median sale prices of $2.23m (3-bed), $2.34m (4-bed) and $2.90m (5+ bed) (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Real mid-2026 medians (~$2.05M–$2.35M) are below the $3M+ figures sometimes assumed for waterfront Northern Beaches suburbs — North Narrabeen's mix of lagoon-shore, mid-century and modest beachside homes keeps its median near the lower-middle of coastal Northern Beaches pricing, below neighbours like Warriewood on several trackers. Premium stock still commands big money: stmate's premium band runs to ~$3.06m and 5-bedroom homes median around $2.90m. The market is tightly held with few sales (roughly 23–60 houses a year), so individual tracker figures vary widely and should be treated as indicative.
New Developments
Development here is mostly civic and small-scale infill rather than big-ticket projects. The Narrabeen Lagoon Trail foreshore works — including the final link completed in 2015 that made the full 8.4 km circuit possible — plus the recent Berry Reserve upgrade (toilets, playground, basketball court, barbecues) have reshaped the lake edge. Northern Beaches Council is planning a public-domain upgrade of the North Narrabeen shops strip on Pittwater Road, and the suburb's predominantly detached-house stock sees only modest infill — houses make up ~94% of listings with little apartment development (stmate).
Jobs & Local Economy
Local employment is concentrated in retail, hospitality and tourism: cafes and small shops on the Pittwater Road strip, the NRMA Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park, and the surf/sport economy around North Narrabeen Beach and Surf Life Saving Club, with the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation just across the lagoon in adjacent Narrabeen. Many residents commute to the Sydney CBD and other centres by bus — NSW journey-planning data puts the door-to-door AM-peak CBD trip at about 73 minutes (TfNSW via auspropertyfinder).
Nearby Suburbs
Narrabeen, Warriewood, Collaroy, Elanora Heights, Mona Vale
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:
Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
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