Panania Suburb Review

Peaceful, roomy suburb represents good value and living space, with just enough amenities to keep things respectable.

Summary: Wanting more room to move in the place you live without either being totally disconnected from the CBD or having to pay millions of dollars? Say hello to Panania. Situated on the fringes of Western Sydney, this is a peaceful and largely residential suburb of wide, quiet streets and large, low density houses both old and new. It’s highly family-friendly, quite safe and has enough small-scale shopping and dining to get by, while its rail connectivity is a major bonus. It’s far from exciting, but definitely functional.

Key stats

In many ways, Panania strikes an ideal balance between the pluses of the Western Suburbs (living space, less crowds, better prices) with those in Sydney’s east (nice houses, safer, easier access to the city) to form a pretty appealing package.

It’s certainly not going to be the first suburb that springs to mind when you hear the word “cool” or “trendy”, but that’s doing it a disservice as a place to live – especially considering the current state of Sydney property prices closer to the city.

In fact, for those either looking to expand their living space from an apartment to a house/townhouse/duplex or to start a family, Panania offers the prospect of doing so without sacrificing too much in the way of CBD connectivity.

Panania sits within what we consider the “Value Belt” of Sydney suburbs – that is, those that offer the chance of a commute into the city of around ~30 minutes or under that still have average property prices under $1 million – while also avoiding some of the crime statistic issues that a few other suburbs nearby deal with.

As a result, while it’s a suburb with a traditionally older, Anglo demographic, it’s become a bit of a hotspot in recent years for first home buyers and young families looking for somewhere more affordable yet still safe. This has led to a bit of a shift in the suburb’s demographics, and helped make it a little more diverse.

Panania still has a bit of a lingering, undeserved rep for having dodgy elements due to housing commission areas up near the parks on the suburb’s north side, however this is largely now out of date. Other than the occasional typical drunken drama or shady character near the Panania Hotel (a good venue for a drink in and of itself) and around the station, there’s little spillover to its pleasant and charming back streets.

Most of Panania’s homes are spacious and pretty large. It’s almost entirely low-density residential with a mix of houses, duplexes, townhouses and villa complexes showcasing a mix of well-maintained older buildings with plenty of big, new ones popping up all the time as well. There’s a fair bit of money on show here  nowadays, particularly along Picnic Point Road which features a range of big and pretty impressive new homes.

Some of its streets do tend to have the occasional eyesore – you’ll have all of these nice, pleasantly-kept houses and then one block in between that features a front yard covered in rubbish with an abandoned car sitting amongst it all. You have to feel for the neighbours who keep their place in tip-top condition, and then have to look across the street at something like that.

Spacious Living

Panania’s a suburb that’s noticeably lacking in apartments, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your perspective. It’s a contributor to keeping the suburb far less busy than the likes of neighbouring Revesby, however it does limit the options for housing for those considering calling it home somewhat.

Its strength, then, lies in its diversity of freestanding homes, with a good blend of old and new available depending on what you’re looking for and how much you’re wanting to spend.

Smaller and older duplexes/townhouses can be had for around $600k which is pretty good for Sydney; old freestanding homes can be had for around $850k with renovations likely required; and scale up towards the $1+ million mark and you can get yourself a newly-constructed freestanding home with several bedrooms.

Panania offers a balance between the space of the West and the safety of the East

It’s a pretty good value proposition when you consider what other positives Panania offers.

As mentioned, peace and quiet is a positive here; there’s not much traffic noise (although major straights like Tower Street could probably do with a speed bump or two), and no plane noise to deal with either.

It’s also decently green, with plenty of large trees overhanging most streets and a number of well-kept hedges, parks and nature reserves dotted throughout. Kelso Park and Marco and Killara Reserves provide a good mix of open green space, playground equipment and sporting/BBQ facilities, while there’s several smaller reserves distributed throughout its residential streets meaning you’ll never have to walk too far for a place to run around with the dog or kids.

Panania’s also a standout for education options for families. It’s home to a very good selection of schools and learning centres for a suburb of its size, with kindergartens, primary and high schools all covered here without having to take the kids to an external suburb.

It’s a range of positives that also comes with proper and impressive rail connectivity as well. While a brief look at the map of Sydney might leave you to believe it’s “too far away for me”, its station’s connection on the ‘Airport Line’ offers very good access into the city. It’s an under-30-minute ride into Central which then allows you to get practically anywhere else in Greater Sydney, and a manageable commute to Wynyard or elsewhere thereafter.

“There’s a fair bit of money on show here nowadays, particularly along Picnic Point Road which features a range of big and pretty impressive new homes.”

Its road situation likely fares well. While it’s not bursting with bus services there’s enough to get by, and drivers can easily hop on the M5 for a decent amount of east-west access before hitting the standard bottlenecks closer to the city.

Panania’s main little retail strip along Tower Street and Anderson Avenue is also quite well-equipped. Its IGA is the go-to for supermarket goods, while its mix of hairdressers, chemists, newsagents and the like round out a handy if unspectacular array of services.

There’s a couple of nice little cafes and local restaurants to provide a handful of options, but this is certainly not a culinary hotspot or somewhere you’d go out of your way to visit for dining purposes from elsewhere.

As with many other “function over form” residential suburbs in Sydney, it’s not hard to see how people can look at Panania and call it “boring”. It’s quite a pretty and charming little community but there’s not much going on outside of the Hotel, and there’s no real major attractions or highlights to speak of as well as no big-box shopping.

If you’re the type who needs more entertainment in a place to live than simply walking the dog or kicking the footy around at the park, then you’ll almost certainly want to look elsewhere. For those who simply want a comfortable place to live that won’t cost them their first-born child to purchase a house however, Panania ticks this box very well.

The Verdict

Panania’s probably not a suburb that’s going to pop up in many of your average trendy Sydney conversions, but that’s mainly because it’s simply a very good place to live rather than desirable to visit. Unless you’re a hipster who craves urban action and scoffs at “generic suburbia”, it’s hard not to be impressed at the blend of living space, affordability and connectivity which Panania offers.

As property prices continue to push average citizens further and further out from inner Sydney, these “second-tier” suburbs become more and more appealing as a result, and Panania’s one in particular which adds a good layer of public transport and decent shopping amenities to the mix.

Families who don’t want to live too much further out west and are willing to spend a reasonable-yet-not-excessive amount of coin on property should strongly consider Panania (as well as nearby Padstow) as a very good balance that won’t murder your bank account.

It’s a pretty and pleasant – if a little bit uneventful and bland – slice of Sydney suburbia with a good community and schooling options, and with enough solid green spaces to boot. You can also largely feel safe walking its streets; don’t let outdated research online saying it’s “dodgy” tell you otherwise, as Panania doesn’t deserved to be lumped in with some of its less safe neighbouring suburbs.

Unless you’ve got a specific preference for apartment living (and the lower pricetags and less upkeep that entails), then Panania has enough diversity in property types that there should be something to fit most current levels of finance or life stages. Just don’t expect Newtown-level entertainment here, or anywhere very close nearby.