Pennant Hills, NSW 2120

Leafy, established suburb about 18 km north-west of the Sydney CBD in Hornsby Shire, frequently described (like neighbouring Cherrybrook and West Pennant Hills) as part of the broader Hills District while sitting within Sydney's Northern Sydney/Hornsby corridor. At the 2021 census it had 7,588 residents, 60.6% of whom spoke only English at home, with China (8.4%), India (4.4%) and England (3.1%) the leading overseas birthplaces. The suburb is hilly — its highest point is Observatory Park on Pennant Hills Road, once the site of an old astronomical observatory — and settlement took off after the Northern railway line arrived in the 1880s, with a residential suburb growing up around the station. Housing is predominantly detached family homes on tree-lined streets: 76% of property sales are houses and about 24% strata apartments, with a buyer profile of established families drawn by schools and gardens (AusProperty Insights). It is one of Hornsby Shire's major commercial centres, with a village-style cluster of shops and cafes near the station.

At a Glance

Transport

Pennant Hills railway station sits on the T9 Northern Line, with trains to the city via Strathfield and to Hornsby. CDC NSW bus services have a terminus at Pennant Hills and run to West Pennant Hills, Castle Hill and surrounding suburbs. Pennant Hills Road (A28) is the suburb's major arterial, with the M2 Hills Motorway to the south and, via the 9 km NorthConnex tunnel (M11), the M1 Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga to the north — the tunnel provides a bypass of the congested Pennant Hills Road corridor.

Schools

Pennant Hills Public School — NSW government primary school established in 1925, spread over two sites about 500 metres apart. Pennant Hills High School — NSW government high school established in 1966. Mount St Benedict College — Catholic girls' secondary college, one of the two Catholic schools in the suburb. St Agatha's Catholic Primary School — Catholic systemic primary school, serving the local parish whose current St Agatha's church was built in 1979.

Shopping & Amenities

Pennant Hills is one of Hornsby Shire's major commercial centres: several dozen shops sit north-west of the railway line along Yarrara Road with the local Pennant Hills Library, plus restaurants and cafes clustered around Yarrara Road, and modern apartments and office towers along Pennant Hills Road. Pennant Hills Marketplace, a local shopping centre, is located on Hillcrest Road. The larger West Pennant Hills commercial area (Thompsons Corner) lies just across the suburb boundary, and Hornsby's main shopping and civic centre is only a few stops north on the train.

Parks & Outdoors

Pennant Hills Park is the suburb's largest sportsground complex, hosting the Ern Holmes Oval for Australian rules and cricket, tennis and netball courts, a rugby field, soccer pitch, two hockey fields and an archery range. Lilian Fraser Garden preserves the rare and exotic plant collection of government biologist Dr Lilian Fraser, passed to Hornsby Shire Council after her death in 1987. Bushland frames the suburb: the Baden-Powell Scout Centre occupies 36 acres of bushland bordering Lane Cove National Park, and the 3,884-hectare Berowra Valley National Park — the bushland valley between Hornsby Heights, Thornleigh, Galston, Pennant Hills and Cherrybrook — begins at Pennant Hills' edge. Pennant Hills Golf Club, an 18-hole private course formed in 1923 on its present site, sits on Copeland Road at the suburb's Beecroft boundary (Golf Finder; golfer.com.au).

Property Market

The median house price in Pennant Hills was around $2,113,500 (median house sale price, AusProperty Insights, June 2026, based on NSW government sale records across 5,968 sales); comparable trackers put it at $2,041,310 (Aug 2026, Andrea Monti, −7.6% over 12 months) and $2,120,000 (PropertyGo) (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. The circa $2.4M–$2.8M range often quoted for 'Hills District' family suburbs overstates Pennant Hills specifically — verified trackers cluster its house median near $2.05M–$2.15M as of mid/late 2026, with one data set showing a −7.6% house-price pullback over the preceding 12 months (Andrea Monti) and AusProperty Insights assessing the market at 'fair value' near its long-term trend. Houses dominate the mix (76% of sales; 24% strata apartments across 119 apartment buildings), and top streets by median include Loftus Road ($2,425,000) and Bellamy Street ($2,166,000) (AusProperty Insights). A median weekly rent could not be confirmed from accessible sources and is left null.

New Developments

Hornsby Shire Council is reviewing its planning controls to inform a future master plan for the Pennant Hills Town Centre — flagged under the 'Picture Pennant Hills' project — and a review of the Pennant Hills Road Corridor between Pennant Hills and Thornleigh is to be undertaken as a priority initiative. Council has exhibited changes to the Hornsby LEP 2013 to facilitate a mixed-use development at 7 City View Road, Pennant Hills, with a draft planning agreement attached (YourSay Hornsby). Apartment and office development along the Pennant Hills Road corridor continues the suburb's gradual transition from its house-dominated character.

Jobs & Local Economy

Local employment is anchored in the town centre's retail, hospitality and services sector plus the suburb's schools (two public and two Catholic campuses). Hornsby, the Shire's main commercial and civic centre, is a few stops north on the T9, Macquarie Park's business and health precinct is a short drive/bus trip south, and the Sydney CBD is reached by the ~40-minute train run.

Nearby Suburbs

West Pennant Hills, Beecroft, Thornleigh, Cherrybrook, North Epping

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 — Pennant Hills
• Transport for NSW
• 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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