Low Density Residential dominant. Median sale $955K over the last 24 months. 88% of decided DAs approved.
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Zoning
Fern Bay is dominated by R2 — Low Density Residential. Land use rules, height, FSR, and permitted developments are set per zone in the Local Environmental Plan and refined by the Development Control Plan.
Limit varies by lot — check your address for the exact figure.
Floor Space Ratio — total floor area as a multiple of lot area.
Location
Fern Bay 2295 covers an undefined area within Port Stephens Council.
Drill into any lot in Fern Bay
Open the interactive map — click any address to see its zone, height, FSR, overlays, and approval likelihood.
Development potential
We score every lot for development signal — under-built relative to the controls, eligible for a granny flat, or sized for subdivision.
under SEPP (Housing) 2021
lots that may support subdivision
show at least one development signal
average uplift signal across the suburb
Own a property in Fern Bay?
Check your lot's exact development potential — height, FSR, granny flat, subdivision, dual-occ.
Constraints & risks
58% of lots are bushfire-prone — a bushfire assessment is likely required; also: 0% of lots carry heritage controls.
Suburb-wide percentages — your specific lot may have all, some, or none of these.
Mapped flood-prone land
RFS bushfire-prone land mapping
Heritage item or Conservation Area
Within 100 m of EPA-listed site
Mapped TEC vegetation
Coastal hazard mapping
ANEF / aircraft noise
Electrician · serves Fern Bay, NSW
Seaside Estate, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Market
Sales, rent, and yield data drawn from NSW Property Sales Information and rental bond data over the past 24 months.
DA activity
51 development applications for Fern Bay addresses were decided by Port Stephens Council over the past 24 months. 45 approved — a 88% approval rate.
Demographics & lifestyle
ABS Census 2021 population data combined with lot-level amenity, healthcare, lifestyle, and crime indices.
Walkable amenity within 1 km
GP / hospital / pharmacy proximity
Cafés, parks, schools, transport
ZoneDSS Marketplace
5 businesses serving Fern Bay and nearby.
Electrician
Seaside Estate, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Plasterer
17 Foxtail St, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Electrical installation service
Norfolk St, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Electrician
35 Apple St, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Electrician
Sovereign St, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Run a local business? Get found by property owners researching Fern Bay.
List your business — freeFAQs
Fern Bay is dominated by the R2 (Low Density Residential) zone, which covers 1,061 of 1,079 lots (99%). The full mix is: R2 Low Density Residential (99%), C2 Centre Support (1%), RE2 Private Recreation (0%), RE1 Public Recreation (0%), C1 Local Centre (0%).
Across Fern Bay, the average maximum building height is 9.0 m. Height is set per zone in the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and can be varied by overlays and schedules. For the exact control on a specific address, generate a planning report.
Yes — 1,044 lots in Fern Bay appear eligible for a granny flat under SEPP (Housing) 2021, based on lot size, zoning, and frontage. Eligibility is lot-specific: get a planning report on your address to confirm.
The median sale price in Fern Bay over the past 24 months is $955,000, across 104 sales. Median unimproved land value is $460,000.
Median weekly rent for a house in Fern Bay is $674. Gross rental yield works out to 3.4%.
Port Stephens Council decided 51 development applications for Fern Bay addresses over the past 24 months, with 45 approved (88% approval rate). Processing time depends heavily on application complexity, council backlog, and whether the application requires referral to other agencies.
Across Fern Bay, 0% with heritage controls, 58.0% bushfire-prone, 0.6% near contaminated sites. These are suburb-wide percentages — every lot has its own combination. A planning report on a specific address shows exactly which controls apply.
0 of 1,079 lots in Fern Bay show identifiable development potential — under-developed for the planning controls, eligible for a granny flat, or capable of subdivision. Average rezoning signal score: 22.1 / 100.
Continue exploring
Compare zoning, development potential, and DA activity across other suburbs in Port Stephens Council and nearby postcodes.
Plasterer · serves Fern Bay, NSW
17 Foxtail St, Fern Bay NSW 2295
Suburb-wide stats are useful for context. For a buy-or-walk decision on a specific lot, you need every control, every constraint, and every clause cited to source.
Run a report — from A$2914-section report · LEP + SEPP + DCP cross-referenced · cited to source
Verify with official sources
Don't take our word for it. Every figure on this page is computed from authoritative New South Wales Government data — and you can verify any of it directly with the source.
Official zoning, height, FSR, and overlay maps for any NSW address. The primary source for everything on this page.
planningportal.nsw.gov.au
Cadastral lot boundaries, aerial imagery, easements, and environmental overlays from NSW Spatial Services.
maps.six.nsw.gov.au
State-listed heritage items and Heritage Conservation Areas. Search by suburb to see what's listed in Fern Bay.
hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au
Sites notified to the EPA under the Contaminated Land Management Act. Critical for due diligence on any address.
apps.epa.nsw.gov.au
Rural Fire Service map of bushfire-prone land categories. Triggers BAL assessment requirements for new builds.
rfs.nsw.gov.au
Australian Bureau of Statistics QuickStats for postcode 2295 — population, age, household composition, income, tenure.
abs.gov.au
Zoning, height, FSR, and overlays parsed from the Port Stephens Council Local Environmental Plan, applicable State Environmental Planning Policies, and the Development Control Plan. Property sales drawn from NSW Property Sales Information. DA history aggregated from the NSW Planning Portal. Heritage, flood, bushfire, contaminated land, TEC, sea-level rise, and aircraft noise overlays from the NSW Spatial Services and EPA registers. Population, age, income, and tenure from ABS Census 2021. Aggregated by ZoneDSS · last updated 2026-04-27.
Suburb-wide statistics — your specific lot may vary. Always run a planning report on the actual address before making a decision. How ZoneDSS works →