Summary: A high-end land rich with massive, sprawling homes on expansive blocks and wrapped in slices of semi-tamed Aussie bushland, Beecroft is immensely green, highly peaceful – and appropriately pricey. It’s home to some truly palatial residences with long, gated driveways and three-car-minimum garages, without much high-density living to speak of. It’s safe, clean and highly retiree-and-family-friendly with some great schools on offer, but is also a little lacking in amenities for shopping and has a premium pricetag for somewhere relatively far from Sydney city.
Key stats
Region: Upper North Shore
Population: 10,000
Postcode: 2119
Ethnic Breakdown: English 18.8%; Australian 10.9%; Chinese 10.7%; Irish 6.8%; Scottish 5.1%
Time to CBD (Public Transport): 45 minutes
Time to CBD (Driving): 30 minutes
Nearest Train Station: Beecroft
Highlights/attractions: Pennant Hills Golf Club
Ideal for: Retirees, families
One of the easiest signs in determining how affluent a suburb is is by looking at the proportion of houses which people have given “names”. An even better metric may be taking this ratio of “Named Homes” and comparing it to the suburb’s quantity of Fast Food options.
If this was the ideal single metric for judging, then Beecroft would likely rank somewhere towards the pointy end of Sydney’s list.
Beecroft’s array of high-end houses are nothing if not impressive. The suburb is home to a wide range of palatial residences of a mix of architectural styles – from massive, Euro-style designs with high, angular roofs, to expansive Hollywood-hills esque “complex” homes complete with their own personal creek running through.
Even the “average” houses here are mostly multi-garage affairs with a minimum of four bedrooms, and large yards and extended block sizes are commonplace.
It’s a streetscape that somehow mixes together the grand elements of sprawling, high-end South Carolina USA with elements of untamed Aussie bushland thrown in. Add in the upper-tier proportion of swimming pool ownership, and Beecroft exudes affluence.
One thing’s for sure: for a suburban area, Beecroft takes the expression “leafy” to a whole other level. Nature-wise, it blows most other Sydney suburbs out of the water as the levels of greenery here are off the charts.
Green & Grand
Much of Beecroft’s tree and plant cover is more along the lines of bushland, rainforests and creeks as opposed to more sterile suburban parkland – there’s a “wild” element here that makes it feel more immersed, particularly in the western portion of the suburb towards West Pennant Hills.
There are clusters of massive, palatial residences with grand driveways along Hull Road with towering tree hedges and elaborate front gates, with the wilder bushland providing quite a contrast.
On the smaller, east side of Beecroft things are a little more “manicured”, with extremely well-presented front gardens, tightly trimmed lawns and curbs and again huge homes around the likes of Copeland and Malton roads.
Its parks round out this refreshing and green atmosphere exceptionally well, too. From the wilderness-embedded tucked away beauty of Fearnly Park to the wide and open grassed and picnic areas of its Village Green alongside Beecroft Road to its charming little memorial park with its Cenotaph, there’s numerous green spaces to choose from in Beecroft that make it ideal for being outdoors with both kids and pets alike.
Beecroft demonstrates the benefits of living space and nature that come in return for sacrificing distance from Sydney city.
The suburb sits at what is almost the cross-section of both the Hills District and Upper North Shore, with a commute that takes around 45 minutes by train to the CBD. Its connectivity is a bonus, as Beecroft Station sees fairly frequent train services.
It’s still largely a drive-centric suburb as a whole however given both its size and layout – a fair chunk of Beecroft’s population sits far enough away in the suburb that you’d need to at least drive to the station anyway. In theory reaching the CBD from Beecroft should be a ~30 minute affair by car, but this timing is prone to frequent blowouts.
Beecroft Road (its main thoroughfare outside of the highway itself) is particularly hectic and prone to congestion, and doesn’t offer the easiest ability to cross from one side of the suburb to the other, either.
It could probably use a traffic light or two more, as one overhead walkway means you’ll often have to walk for ages to cover what should really be a short distance “as the crow flies”.
In terms of amenities, Beecroft is adequate if not overly impressive. It’s got enough to cover the basics, with its main cluster of retail, little local cafes, restaurants and boutique shopping along Hannah Street the go-to area for daily needs.
It’s home to a Woolworths, a decent mix of medical and other miscellaneous services within Beecroft Place & Village, but not much else.
There’s no larger-scale retail, and the suburb suffers from poor distribution of amenities elsewhere – everything is clustered in this little hub around the train station.
Its only other drawcards for gatherings are the Beecroft Club (think a mid-market local bowls club with lawn bowls pitches and nice regular BBQ offerings), and the higher-end Pennant Hills Golf Club which boasts a classy atmosphere, dining options and high teas, and an undulating yet acclaimed course itself.
It’s thus not hard to see how Beecroft’s main demographic of appeal is going to be retirees. Nightlife is virtually non-existent; you’d have to head over to nearby Epping or Pennant Hills proper for more of a semblance of proper entertainment.
The other main bracket who will likely find Beecroft an idyllic place to live is going to be families who prefer peace and quiet as opposed to regular contact with more “true Sydney” life.
Beecroft not only provides all of the aforementioned great open spaces – most of which are decked out with top-notch playground facilities – but access to excellent schools as well.
Both its public and private offerings rank highly in the NSW state rankings, and there’s enough diversity of options within the catchment area to provide a degree of choice for education.
Add in its selection of childcare and early learning centres and couple this with its large amount of living space and very low crime rates, and you’ve got an extremely family-friendly suburb in Beecroft.
Beecroft is abundant in quality wide and open green spaces
It’s price-wise however where Beecroft becomes a bit of a tough sell. While there’s a bit of a cluster of high-density apartments around the station and dotted elsewhere throughout, even these apartments are higher-end and on the expensive side.
“There are clusters of massive, palatial residences with grand driveways with towering tree hedges and elaborate front gates, with the wilder bushland providing quite a contrast. “
As a whole, Beecroft is largely freestanding homes and there’s not much assortment in property types other than the occasional small group of pricey Villas/Townhouses.
Baseline home prices hover around the $1.8 million mark, with many more massive houses which easily blow that price out of the water. While you’re getting a lot of house, it’s a high price to pay for somewhere that’s a little disconnected from the rest of Sydney and without much going on in general.
There are a smattering of rental apartments on offer for around the $550 per week mark for 2 bedrooms, but these are in short supply.
Crime-wise, it should come as no surprise that Beecroft is highly safe. Its crime rate clocks in at a low 0.05% per capita, which places it firmly in the upper third of the safest suburb in Sydney rankings.
The Verdict
There’s no denying that Beecroft is a “quality” suburb overall. Its streetscape is largely immaculate, it’s highly safe, and there’s a general premium feel in terms of both appearance and maintenance.
Its natural offerings are pristine, with great and well-equipped parks of varying shapes and sizes, nature walks and paths within suburban back streets, and an overall immersive and peaceful atmosphere that makes for pleasant living and nightly sleeps.
For those already or looking to retire, Beecroft offers a balance of everything one could possibly want for retired life; it’s got more of the golf to play, lawn bowls to roll and gardens to upkeep than you can shake a stick at.
Its lack of liveliness is not as much of a drawback for this demographic, and there’s still enough in terms of decent little local restaurants, quaint vintage liquour stores and good essential health services to satisfy.
Families who enjoy quieter life and want safety and personal space will too find plenty to like, as it’s certainly peaceful if nothing else. Its rail connectivity is a bonus, and bus services are decent if unspectacular. You’ll still likely be driving a lot, and Beecroft Road isn’t the greatest of thoroughfares to face on a regular basis.
Its lack of housing diversity will price out much of the potential market, as even the lower-end and older freestanding homes on offer are quite expensive even relative to Sydney in general. And honestly, it’s to the extent here where someone truly has to ask themselves: how much personal space or land does someone REALLY need in order to live a satisfying life?
Overall, Beecroft would rank pretty damn highly in our Sydney “If Money Were No Object” theoretical suburb rankings – but money is certainly a factor that needs to be considered for most.
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