Low Density Residential dominant. Median sale $850K over the last 24 months. 87% of decided DAs approved.
Need a builder, surveyor or planner near Nelson Bay? See local experts ↓
Zoning
Nelson 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
Nelson Bay 2315 covers an undefined area within Port Stephens Council.
Drill into any lot in Nelson 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.
lots with remaining GFA capacity
under SEPP (Housing) 2021
lots that may support subdivision
adjoining lots with combined upside
show at least one development signal
within a TOD corridor (uplift expected)
average uplift signal across the suburb · 17 high-signal lots
Theoretical capacity if every lot built to its limit: 9,685 dwellings, with 806,401 m² of unused GFA across the suburb.
Own a property in Nelson Bay?
Check your lot's exact development potential — height, FSR, granny flat, subdivision, dual-occ.
Constraints & risks
29% of lots are bushfire-prone — a bushfire assessment is likely required; also: 1% 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
Construction company · serves Nelson Bay, NSW
59 Achilles St, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Market
Sales, rent, and yield data drawn from NSW Property Sales Information and rental bond data over the past 24 months.
DA activity
249 development applications for Nelson Bay addresses were decided by Port Stephens Council over the past 24 months. 217 approved — a 87% 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
45 businesses serving Nelson Bay and nearby.
Construction company
59 Achilles St, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Electrician
8 Bounty Pl, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Real estate agent
32a/71 Victoria Parade, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Property management company
1/24 Donald St, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Real estate agency
47 Ajax Ave, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Real estate agency
2/24 Donald St, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
Run a local business? Get found by property owners researching Nelson Bay.
List your business — freeFAQs
Nelson Bay is dominated by the R2 (Low Density Residential) zone, which covers 2,351 of 3,236 lots (74%). The full mix is: R2 Low Density Residential (74%), R3 Medium Density Residential (18%), E1 Local Centre (5%), RE1 Public Recreation (3%), RE2 Private Recreation (1%).
Across Nelson Bay, the average maximum building height is 10.3 m and the average maximum Floor Space Ratio (FSR) is 2.68:1. Individual lots can vary materially — height and FSR are set per zone in the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and can be modified by overlays. For an exact figure on a specific address, generate a planning report.
Yes — 2,690 lots in Nelson 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 Nelson Bay over the past 24 months is $850,000, across 441 sales. Median unimproved land value is $575,000.
Median weekly rent for a house in Nelson Bay is $650. Gross rental yield works out to 3.8%.
Port Stephens Council decided 249 development applications for Nelson Bay addresses over the past 24 months, with 217 approved (87% approval rate). Processing time depends heavily on application complexity, council backlog, and whether the application requires referral to other agencies.
Across Nelson Bay, 1% with heritage controls, 28.8% bushfire-prone, 0.2% 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.
269 of 3,236 lots in Nelson Bay show identifiable development potential — under-developed for the planning controls, eligible for a granny flat, or capable of subdivision. 171 lots fall within a Transport Oriented Development corridor. Average rezoning signal score: 29.2 / 100.
Continue exploring
Compare zoning, development potential, and DA activity across other suburbs in Port Stephens Council and nearby postcodes.
Electrician · serves Nelson Bay, NSW
8 Bounty Pl, Nelson Bay NSW 2315
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 Nelson 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 2315 — 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 →