Low Density Residential dominant. Median sale $6.35M over the last 24 months. 88% of decided DAs approved.
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Zoning
Watsons 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
Watsons Bay 2030 covers an undefined area within Woollahra Municipal Council.
Drill into any lot in Watsons 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
show at least one development signal
average uplift signal across the suburb
Theoretical capacity if every lot built to its limit: 181 dwellings, with 12,404 m² of unused GFA across the suburb.
Own a property in Watsons Bay?
Check your lot's exact development potential — height, FSR, granny flat, subdivision, dual-occ.
Constraints & risks
94% of lots have a heritage listing or sit in a Heritage Conservation Area — expect controls on demolition, alterations, and additions; also: 1.5% 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
Architectural designer · serves Watsons Bay, NSW
280 Old South Head Rd, Watsons Bay NSW 2030
Market
Sales, rent, and yield data drawn from NSW Property Sales Information and rental bond data over the past 24 months.
DA activity
59 development applications for Watsons Bay addresses were decided by Woollahra Municipal Council over the past 24 months. 52 approved — a 88% approval rate. Average processing time: 39 days.
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
2 businesses serving Watsons Bay and nearby.
Architectural designer
280 Old South Head Rd, Watsons Bay NSW 2030
Home builder
10 Military Rd, Watsons Bay NSW 2030
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List your business — freeFAQs
Watsons Bay is dominated by the R2 (Low Density Residential) zone, which covers 204 of 260 lots (83%). The full mix is: R2 Low Density Residential (83%), RE1 Public Recreation (8%), E1 Local Centre (5%), R3 Medium Density Residential (2%), C1 Local Centre (2%).
Across Watsons Bay, the average maximum building height is 8.2 m and the average maximum Floor Space Ratio (FSR) is 1.16:1. 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 — 120 lots in Watsons 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 Watsons Bay over the past 24 months is $6,350,000, across 16 sales. Median unimproved land value is $5,340,000.
Median weekly rent for a house in Watsons Bay is $1,200. Gross rental yield works out to 0.7%.
Woollahra Municipal Council decided 59 development applications for Watsons Bay addresses over the past 24 months, with 52 approved (88% approval rate). Average processing time is 39 days. Processing time depends heavily on application complexity, council backlog, and whether the application requires referral to other agencies.
Across Watsons Bay, 94% with heritage controls. These are suburb-wide percentages — every lot has its own combination. A planning report on a specific address shows exactly which controls apply.
22 of 260 lots in Watsons Bay show identifiable development potential — under-developed for the planning controls, eligible for a granny flat, or capable of subdivision. Average rezoning signal score: 27.7 / 100.
Continue exploring
Compare zoning, development potential, and DA activity across other suburbs in Woollahra Municipal Council and nearby postcodes.
Home builder · serves Watsons Bay, NSW
10 Military Rd, Watsons Bay NSW 2030
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 Watsons 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 2030 — population, age, household composition, income, tenure.
abs.gov.au
Zoning, height, FSR, and overlays parsed from the Woollahra Municipal 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 →