Putney Suburb Review

Very pretty and plenty to like as far as upmarket waterfront suburbia goes; traffic and price are its two major downsides.

Summary: A picturesque and well-groomed suburb spanning back from the banks of the north side of the Parramatta River, Putney is a showcase of just how gorgeous suburban Sydney can be – if you’ve got the money for it. With about as pretty an aspect as one could hope for without directly facing Sydney Harbour, it’s a suburb where the fruits of capital growth are in plain sight. Large, architecturally-designed houses on big blocks, slices of lovely waterfront parkland and highly family-friendly leanings in general, its only major downsides are traffic/access issues, a lack of nightlife, and the general price of admission.

Key stats

Putney is certainly a suburb that’s become “one for the ballers” out there. Quite a turnaround from its past historic days as home to housing commission, in the present Putney is a well-manicured and visually impressive concentration of high-end suburbia with distinct family and waterfront leanings.

Credit to those who saw fit to purchase homes here back in the ~20 year ago range, as few suburbs have seen such a jump in house prices and overall conditions than this relatively small slice of Sydney.

Putney is now large-scale gentrification in its purest sense; the number of newer, towering home builds is pretty staggering, and they’re almost universally equipped with immaculate and roomy front lawns and gardens. There’s a ton to like about living here for families in particular, but it will certainly cost you to take part.

Owing to its hillside aspect – Putney sits on a gradient leading down to the banks of the Parramatta River – many of these homes garner some great aquatic views as well. It’s highly pretty and extremely well-maintained, with an array of parklands that oriented around enjoying all that water which fringes it.

This is a suburb with a high level of boat ownership and multiple ramps for plopping your vessel in the water, and parks alongside the water decked out in amazing amounts of playground equipment for the kids.

It’s also one where you’ll likely want to spend a lot of time outdoors taking advantage of it all. The majority of Putney’s parks and public spaces contain a mix of sporting facilities – think basketball courts, cricket pitches, and plenty of lovely cycling tracks for soaking in the views from on two wheels as well.

There’s an argument to be made that Putney may rank as (one of) the best suburbs to live in for cyclists in general, as they’re well-serviced by multiple routes and close enough to be able to cycle-commute as well.

Putney’s streetscape in general is both peaceful in someways yet lively in others; there’s not too much through traffic, and its low density housing means population density (and therefore crowds) aren’t a real thing here.

It does cop some slight flight path/aircraft noise, but it’s not too noticeable and nothing compared to the Inner West suburbs which cop the full brunt.

Yet there’s a certain buzz to the suburb given its family leanings and nice central “village” vibe around its main little dining hub along Morrison Road and Charles Street. It certainly feels more lively and communal than some of the other more haughty high-end North Shore suburbs further up.

The hub around the Putney Village area is undeniably charming. It’s not the most well-equipped in the world – a smattering of nice little cafes and great local gourmet eateries & restaurants, an IGA and some other boutiques – but it’s a nice strip to grab lunch or do some light grocery shopping.

Elsewhere throughout Putney there’s the occasional cute designer hairdresser or barbershop and individual cafe, but not much else.

There’s no bigger-scale retail, but Putney’s location adjacent to Ryde means that Top Ryde and other major outlets are only a short drive away.

Driven Ambition

And you WILL likely be driving most of the time during your time here. Putney sees a decent if unspectacular amount of bus services, it lacks rail connectivity. Meadowbank nearby is the closest station, but that’s a bit of a roundabout route into the Sydney CBD.

As a result, drivers here often have to deal with the grim prospect of the traffic of Victoria Road, which frequently slows to a crawl heading over the bridges towards the city. What should theoretically be a ~20 minute drive frequently blows out to ridiculous commute times due to the strain on this road leading many to use alternate, longer routes instead.

Church Street, which carries traffic down over the Ryde Bridge is likewise heavily-trafficked and noisy; living closer to this artery brings a pretty heavy dose of noise pollution with it. Much of this can be owed to the ballooning development in neighbouring suburbs such as Rhodes and Meadowbank – you may not live there yourself while in Putney, but everyone still has to share the same roads.

One of Putney’s more unique transport offerings comes in the way of its ferries. These come in two flavours in Putney – the first, standard option from Kissing Point Wharf offers people-only access down the river towards Circular Quay. It’s a pretty journey, if not the most efficient trip.

The second is something more special: Putney offers a car-bearing ferry service from Putney Point across to Mortlake. It’s quite a distinct bonus to be able to take the car across, and it’s entirely free of charge to boot.

The Kissing Point area (and Putney’s other waterfront parks in general) are its major highlight. Kissing Point Park and its surrounds are very pretty, offering a great aspect looking across the water to the historic Rivendell School and comes with picnic facilities, and some spots of sand with shallow pools for the kids to play in.

Elsewhere, its namesake Putney Park may just be the best park in all of inner Sydney for those with kids. At the very least it’s probably the best waterfront kids park, with one of the best mixes of playground equipment of any park in such a position – it’s well-shaded, has slides, shallow pools, climbing equipment and more.

Even if you’re not a resident, if you’re looking for a top spot to take the kids then it’s well worth a visit from elsewhere too.

It’s a highly safe suburb as a whole, boasting one of the lower overall crime rates in central Sydney, and offers a pretty healthy selection of childcare and schooling options both within and nearby. It’s not hard to see why Putney ranks as a highly desirable suburb for families in general as a result.

Much of the rest of Putney is purely housing. It’s largely a residential suburb as a whole, and the scale of most of the homes is impressive. There’s a handful of new townhouse/duplex construction projects but next to no apartment buildings – the contrast between Putney and neighbouring Meadowbank with its clusters of high-density is significant.

It’s also physically quite steep in terms of topography; heading north away from the water it’s extremely hilly in places until things plateau up the top.

Putney boasts many impressive homes – from large to very large

As can be expected from such a streetscape, there’s not much on offer entertainment-wise within Putney itself outside of cafe dining or its nice local restaurants. It’s not quite as “stuffy” as other expensive suburbs, but this is still definitely not somewhere for the younger crowd looking for any kind of upbeat entertainment.

“In an ideal world, this is the kind of Aussie suburbia that most families would have access to.”

Many of Putney’s big homes boast impressive architectural designs and variations with fairly recent construction dates.

Combine this with the waterfront-adjacent aspect, and it’s no surprise that Putney brings hefty property pricetags to boot. $1.7 million is the standard price for a 3-bedder here, with many more of the newer homes blowing this figure substantially out of the water.

Its lack of higher-density options means there’s also not much of a rental market for the less-cashed-up buyer; there’s very little supply in general, and what there is that’s both A) decent, and B) available starts at around $600 per week.

The Verdict

Putney is such a well-kept, safe, visually appealing and family-friendly suburb that it borders on a shame that so few people will be able to afford to experience it on a permanent basis.

In an ideal world, this is the kind of Aussie suburbia that most families would have access to – great, safe public spaces decked out in equipment, that signature Sydney water nearby, quality places to eat out without massive crowds, and plenty of room for kids or pets. Its many separate waterfront spaces are pretty bordering on gorgeous, and its outdoor leanings are well-serviced by good public amenities as well.

Its homes are big and aspirational if somewhat excessive, and it’s clean and visually appealing as a whole. This creates an automatic exclusion for most budgets however, and its lack of variety in housing means there’s a very specific demographic that’s ever going to be living here.

Access to the city is also an issue, with commute times that aren’t as desirable as you’d think given its decent location and high pricetags. Traffic in general is a major concern here and getting from A to B is only getting more painful once looking to head outside Putney itself.

It may also border on “boring” for the younger crowd, but there’s a certain vibrance and energy that comes with being near the water that many other wealthy non-harbour suburbs lack.

If you’re a wealthy family and don’t mind dealing with a fairly painful drive on a daily basis, Putney has almost no other notable flaws. For those without excessive cash, you’ve likely missed the boat on being able to crack into this very pretty place.