NSW land values reached a record $3.09 trillion as of 1 July 2025, with Greater Sydney residential land up 4.7 percent and City of Sydney up 3.5 percent.
The Property Desk is a contributing writer covering property and public affairs for The Sydney Times.
The NSW Valuer General has recorded total land values of $3.09 trillion across the state as of 1 July 2025, a record high and an increase of 3.6 percent from the $2.988 trillion recorded in 2024. The figure, published in November 2025, reflects analysis of more than 66,000 property sales and provides the basis for land tax calculations, local council rate revenues, and the state's infrastructure funding models.
Greater Sydney accounts for $2.026 trillion of the total, up 4.5 percent from the previous year. Residential land values within Greater Sydney rose 4.7 percent, reaching $1.71 trillion across 1,123,778 properties. The City of Sydney local government area recorded total land values of $143.6 billion, up 3.5 percent, while regional NSW as a whole rose to $342.4 billion, with residential land values up 3.0 percent. Rural land values were the only category to decline, falling 0.4 percent as drought conditions and lower commodity prices reduced agricultural returns.
The Valuer General's annual valuation is based on a statistical model that analyses sales data from the preceding financial year, adjusted for market movements up to the valuation date. The model incorporates factors such as property size, location, land use, and improvements, and it is calibrated against a stratified random sample of recent transactions. The resulting valuations are not market appraisals but statutory assessments used for taxation and rating purposes. They are typically lower than the market prices reported by real estate agents and auction houses.
The 2025 valuations were released to councils in tranches between November 2025 and April 2026, with rate notices reflecting the new values from the 2026-27 financial year. Revenue NSW uses the valuations to assess land tax liabilities for property owners with taxable land valued above the $1.075 million threshold. The threshold for the premium land tax rate, which applies to land valued above $6.7 million, remained unchanged for the 2026 assessment year.
The Valuer General's report includes breakdowns by local government area, revealing significant variation in land value growth across Greater Sydney. The strongest growth was recorded in the inner west and south-west, where rezoning for higher density and infrastructure investment have boosted land values. The Bayside Council area, which includes the suburbs of Rockdale, Botany, and Mascot, recorded total land value growth of 6.2 percent, driven by industrial land conversion and the expansion of the Sydney Airport precinct.
The Inner West Council area, which amalgamated the former Ashfield, Leichhardt, and Marrickville councils, recorded growth of 5.8 percent. The council's "Our Fairer Future Plan," adopted in November 2025 and amended in April 2026, identified sites for up to 27,000 new dwellings as an alternative to the state government's transport-oriented development program. The plan includes medium-density zoning along the Parramatta Road corridor and heritage conservation areas in Haberfield and Ashfield.
Woollahra, which covers the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, recorded total land value growth of 4.1 percent, with residential land up 5.2 percent. The area is identified by NSW Planning as the most feasible local government area for housing intensification, with a state-led rezoning proposal for up to 9,400 homes and a new train station at Bondi Junction. The exhibition period for the rezoning ran from September to October 2026, attracting more than 1,200 public submissions.
The Valuer General's data highlights the relationship between land values, planning restrictions, and housing affordability. In suburbs where planning controls limit development to low-density housing, land values have risen faster than in areas where medium-density zoning has been expanded. The contrast between the eastern suburbs and the south-west is stark: Woollahra's residential land values are among the highest in the state, while the outer south-west LGAs of Camden and Campbelltown have recorded more modest growth despite strong population inflows.
The NSW Government's housing strategy, released in August 2026, aims to accelerate supply by rezoning surplus government land, introducing minimum density targets around transport hubs, and streamlining the development approval process. The strategy estimates that 377,000 new dwellings need to be built over five years to restore affordability to pre-2020 levels, but the current pipeline of approved but unstarted projects stands at only 180,000 dwellings, according to the Housing Industry Association.
The increase in land values will flow through to council rates and land tax bills for the 2026-27 financial year. Councils set their rates based on the assessed land value, with the average rate in the dollar rising by 3.2 percent across Greater Sydney. For a typical residential property in the City of Sydney, the combination of higher land values and higher rates in the dollar will produce a council bill increase of approximately 6.7 percent.
Landowners with properties valued above the $1.075 million threshold will also face higher land tax liabilities. Revenue NSW estimates that the number of taxpayers liable for land tax will increase by 8 percent in the 2026 assessment year, reflecting both market growth and the indexation of the threshold. The premium land tax rate, which applies to land valued above $6.7 million, will affect an estimated 12,000 properties in Greater Sydney, with an average additional liability of $18,000 per property.
For the full Valuer General report, see NSW Valuer General media release. Greater Sydney breakdowns are available at NSW Government land values overview. The Bayside Council Affordable Rental Housing Strategy 2025 can be accessed via Bayside Council publications.
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