Low Density Residential dominant. Median sale $930K over the last 24 months. 86% of decided DAs approved.
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Zoning
Shoal 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
Shoal Bay 2315 covers an undefined area within Port Stephens Council.
Drill into any lot in Shoal 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
adjoining lots with combined upside
show at least one development signal
average uplift signal across the suburb
Own a property in Shoal Bay?
Check your lot's exact development potential — height, FSR, granny flat, subdivision, dual-occ.
Constraints & risks
47% of lots are bushfire-prone — a bushfire assessment is likely required; also: 0% of lots carry heritage controls; 0.3% of lots intersect a Threatened Ecological Community; 0.1% of lots are exposed to projected sea-level rise.
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
Market
Sales, rent, and yield data drawn from NSW Property Sales Information and rental bond data over the past 24 months.
DA activity
62 development applications for Shoal Bay addresses were decided by Port Stephens Council over the past 24 months. 53 approved — a 86% 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
0 businesses serving Shoal Bay and nearby.
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List your business — freeFAQs
Shoal Bay is dominated by the R2 (Low Density Residential) zone, which covers 611 of 928 lots (66%). The full mix is: R2 Low Density Residential (66%), R3 Medium Density Residential (29%), E1 Local Centre (2%), C1 Local Centre (1%), RE1 Public Recreation (1%).
Across Shoal Bay, the average maximum building height is 9.3 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 — 833 lots in Shoal 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 Shoal Bay over the past 24 months is $930,000, across 91 sales. Median unimproved land value is $733,000.
Median weekly rent for a house in Shoal Bay is $650. Gross rental yield works out to 3.7%.
Port Stephens Council decided 62 development applications for Shoal Bay addresses over the past 24 months, with 53 approved (86% approval rate). Processing time depends heavily on application complexity, council backlog, and whether the application requires referral to other agencies.
Across Shoal Bay, 0% with heritage controls, 47.0% bushfire-prone. 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 928 lots in Shoal Bay show identifiable development potential — under-developed for the planning controls, eligible for a granny flat, or capable of subdivision. Average rezoning signal score: 22.6 / 100.
Continue exploring
Compare zoning, development potential, and DA activity across other suburbs in Port Stephens Council and nearby postcodes.
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 Shoal 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 →