Bexley Suburb Review

Summary: Quiet, conveniently located and heavily residential, Bexley is a bit of a sleeper suburb that’s not often talked about yet offers a surprising dose of upmarket living for a pretty good price. Given its position relative to the Sydney CBD and its overall balance of safety, amenities and home sizes, Bexley is probably still undervalued overall and – while it’s still not “cheap”, being Sydney prices – is worth considering as a slightly-cheaper alternative to neighbouring suburbs that still has good public transport connectivity.

Key stats

One of a small handful of suburbs in a pocket of Sydney that mostly flies under the radar for those looking to live reasonably close to the city, Bexley is both not the most talked about yet still bigger than you’d think.

This cluster that’s not-quite fully Inner West, St. George or Bayside, although it’s officially under the Bayside Council (basically the stretch from Turella down to Allawah and including Clemton Park) has escaped some of the price-gouging of suburbs just a matter of a few minutes drive away.

While historically a lot of that was owed to flight paths and aircraft noise, this has alleviated in recent times particularly in Bexley. As a result, Bexley’s location gives it a convenient proximity to the airport – around a 15 minute drive away – without as much of the built-in detriment.

Location in general is the first obvious strong point in Bexley’s favour. It lies in a balanced spot in which not too many of the essentials of Sydney are very far away.

This in turn helps make up for what Bexley might lack internally while having much of it right nearby – it doesn’t have its own train station, but is surrounded by several nearby; it lacks a major shopping centre, but both Hurstville and Rockdale are right next door; even the beach is only around a 10 minute drive away.

Sydney city itself is around a 25-minute drive from Bexley in those rare occasions where there’s no traffic, but commutes up Forest Road and onto the highway are typically densely packed with congestion.

Realistically, 40 minutes or so is a viable trip to work, both by car and rail. This factors in time actually getting to a nearby train station if taking the train; given Bexley’s large size – particularly if you live in the central part of the suburb, it can be a bit of a hike to get to Kogarah/Rockdale/Bexley North stations.

Checking all Boxes

Bexley’s streetscape is one of the nicest in this slice of Sydney overall. It’s largely clean and better-kept than some of the suburbs nearby; in many ways, Bexley feels a lot like the classier and more upmarket brother of Arncliffe.

It’s heavily residential throughout, with most of its non-housing clustered along the long stretch of Forest Road which splits the suburb in two.

Forest Road is a busy thoroughfare which has two main focal points.

The south-west towards Hurstville is mostly service and supply-type businesses – think auto repairs, hardware manufacturers, tyre shops and the like with the occasional fast-food joint thrown in – while on the north-eastern side you’ll find its “Town Centre”.

This is where most Bexley’s pretty decent array of dining and amenities is concentrated, and it’s quite well-equipped.

There’s no large-scale retail to be found, but it’s got a good mix of small-scale services and stores such as medical, dental, bakeries, newsagents and the like. There’s an IGA for grocery needs, and quite a nice blend of local dining options too.

It’s not the cafe-heavy leanings as dense as the Inner West, but its mix of demographics means there’s plenty of cool little restaurants to try covering a range of cuisines – Lebanese, Italian, Filipino and various other.

If you’re after anything more big-box retail-oriented however, you’ll have to head to neighbouring suburbs as Bexley is otherwise lacking in this regard.

There’s not a whole lot that goes on here after sundown, however. If you’re looking for action, about the peak Bexley has to offer is the Forest Inn Hotel (a great little pub with well-priced food and the odd spot of karaoke), or playing a round at the Bexley Golf Club (a quaint club with a challenging course in good condition).

Bexley’s back streets are largely quiet, clean, and unassuming. It’s got a decent mix of housing types, with more larger homes and wide-based low-rise apartment blocks as opposed to your typical Inner West terrace-heavy streetscape.

There’s some lovely sandstone brick constructions built into the hillside, and many parts of Bexley are elevated with associated views as it’s quite hilly in places.

The suburb’s also greener than you’d think. Its lack of highrise construction gives it an open and unobscured feel, and many of its streets overhang with tree cover providing a pretty good slice of nature.

There’s several parks dotted throughout Bexley, some great and some not-so-great. A couple are basically overgrown and slightly neglected blocks of land in-between houses, but there are a some great, roomy green spaces as well.

Evatt Park is a nice, expansive flat green space with a walking path through and play equipment, yet it’s Bexley Park(seems appropriate) that steals the show.

This is an excellent place for kids with a great mix of playground equipment including a flying fox and track for scooters, while it’s well-equipped with sporting amenities as well.

Cricket pitches and proper sports grounds along with barbecue facilities and plenty of shade make it a great all-rounder park for all of adults, kids, and pets.

It’s well-kept, too, and doesn’t suffer from some of the neglect other parks in this area can suffer from – perhaps its only downside is the road noise from busy Stoney Creek Road nearby.

For families, Bexley has quite a lot to offer. It’s home to multiple generalist schools, sure, but there’s also other specialist amenities such as tech schools and a mix of private and religious options as well as a good selection of daycare services.

It’s not only well-serviced for families but also the elderly as well, with several aged care centres dotted throughout. It’s largely a safe and uneventful suburb, too. Crime-wise it’s had some issues with car theft, but otherwise it’s a peaceful and safe place to both live in and walk around.

Bexley’s homes are generally quite large overall.

There’s a smattering of small complexes of both old and new townhouses and the occasional duplex, but much of it is big freestanding homes or red brick older low-rise apartment buildings limited to only a handful of individual apartments.

Its home to quite a lot of homes that border on “mansion” territory, too, with big, impressive columns on the older houses and double-story newer constructions plopped in between.

There’s quite a lot of money here as a whole, with buyers able to get a bit more for their dollar.

Price-wise, Bexley is probably undervalued overall and represents a good opportunity both for living and investment alike.

Most people probably glance at the suburb on the map, see that it’s got no train station, and dismiss it accordingly; their loss, as you can potentially save yourself a couple of hundred thousand dollars by buying a home here as opposed to other suburbs 10 minutes up the road.

Smaller, older freestanding homes at the $1 million (or even slightly under) mark are still a possibility here, although the suburb’s gradually being filled up with newer, bigger homes that add an additional several hundred thousand olders and are dragging up the averages accordingly.

“Price-wise, Bexley is probably undervalued overall and represents a good opportunity both for living and investment alike.”

Bexley also represents a particularly good-value spot for apartment buyers who don’t need too much space – 2 bedders for the mid-to-high $550k mark still exist without being too dodgy as well.

Rental wise it’s likewise a good deal, with $450 a week able to snag you something decent; pretty good for Sydney.

The Verdict

With no major negatives other than some traffic issues and a lack of bigger-scale amenities, Bexley ticks all the criteria for being labelled a “sleeper” Sydney suburb, both to rent and to buy. It’s not teeming with major attractions or nightlife, and is “pretty” rather than “gorgeous”, but for the pricetag and location that’s pretty damn good.

The suburb has a good balance of demographics, connectivity and centralised position, and while the driving situation isn’t amazing and distance to the nearest train station can be a slight pain, its positives outweigh these by a large margin.

Renters in particular who aren’t on massive incomes but still would like to be relatively close to the Sydney CBD should definitely consider it – it falls into a category of “good starter suburb for the newly-relocated” from other cities either overseas or elsewhere in Australia.

Likewise, home buyers who can’t afford the next “inner ring” closer to the city but still want a safe and roomy place to raise a family should consider it as an option. Don’t be put off by your preconceived notion of what this part of Sydney is like – it’s pleasant overall, has good upkeep, its parks are very good and there’s still enough of a cafe and dining scene for things not to feel dead.

It’s not cheap enough to call it a true “bargain”, but in terms of price positioning it’s certainly towards the good value end of the spectrum and should be on your potential list of slightly more affordable Sydney living places.