Grafton, NSW 2460
Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales
Good to Know
Grafton, NSW 2460 is a tightly-held house market in the Clarence Valley Council area, currently positioned as a income-and-growth submarket. Home to roughly 10,563 adults across 6,073 dwellings, the suburb shows a low vacancy rate of 0.73%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Grafton is exhibiting tight supply and firm rental demand. Stock on Market sits at 0.27% and Inventory at 1.44 months — well below the ~3-month balanced-market threshold — driving +6.9% YoY price growth and +2.9% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Grafton's combination of stronger price growth (+6.9%) than rent growth (+2.9%) alongside a solid gross yield of 5.05% points to a market currently skewed towards capital gains while still delivering attractive income for investors. Tight supply signals — notably Stock on Market at 0.27% and Inventory at 1.44 months — are supportive of continued price momentum unless new listings increase significantly. For a live view, see the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap.
Who lives in Grafton — and why it matters for investors
Grafton records an IRSAD of 921, which sits below the recommended benchmark of 927 and indicates relatively lower socioeconomic advantage; that can translate to greater renter demand but also higher sensitivity to employment shifts. The suburb’s renter/owner split is neutral at 34.0% and the units/houses mix is neutral at 13.0%, suggesting a predominantly owner-occupied, house-dominant market profile. For how neighbourhood advantage influences growth patterns, see the IRSAD Crossover study.
Why suburb-level data matters for Grafton
Decisions should be driven by Grafton’s own metrics rather than broader averages: the typical house price is $545,310, gross yield sits at 5.05%, Stock on Market is an opportunistic 0.27%, Inventory is just 1.44 months, and median days on market are a brisk 25 days. These concrete suburb-level signals (price, yield, supply and time on market) are what determine entry timing and cashflow resilience.
For a methodology discussion on scale and sampling, read LGA vs Suburb research. You can also download the full Grafton, NSW 2460 data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 70
The HtAG RCS™ (Rating Composite Score) combines three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into a single score to help match markets to strategy. A score of 70 signals a favourable balance between upside and managed risk, but you should review the sub-score breakdown to prioritise either growth or income. See how the RCS™ is built. To explore this market interactively, open Grafton in HtAG Copilot.
Forward signals to watch
vacancy rate — currently 0.73%: a sustained sub‑1% vacancy usually signals ongoing rental tightness, supporting further rent growth and reducing downside cashflow risk over the next 12–24 months.
building approvals ratio — currently 0.0%: near‑zero approvals point to a limited new-supply pipeline, which tends to preserve pressure on prices and rents unless approvals pick up.
Sydney cycle phase: a clear shift in the Sydney cycle (expansion or contraction) can alter regional demand flows; an expansion in the capital city often lifts regional buyer confidence and enquiry, while a downturn can slow momentum in smaller markets like Grafton.
Does this area meet your investment goals?
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RCS Breakdown
Grafton's RCS™ headline is an overall signal — but it doesn't tell you why. The three sub-scores below reveal whether that score is earned through risk minimisation, capital growth, or cashflow — and which portfolio brief it fits.
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Market Trends
Grafton's headline values — $545K to buy and $530PW to rent, a 5.05% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 90.29% and rents 74.34% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$545K is today. The 10-year trajectory reveals whether that's the top of a run, the start of a new leg, or somewhere mid-cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
$530PW today, with rent growth at (+2.91% YoY) compared to price growth (+6.88%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Grafton in its cycle - and is the 5.05% yield holding?
Cycle phase tells you whether you're buying near the bottom (room to run) or top (compression ahead). Yield trajectory tells you whether cashflow is durable or being eroded — the single most important question for a long-hold thesis.
Cycle Phase
Cycle Position
Yield Trajectory
Rent vs Price Spread
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Area Risks
Property data alone won't flag the structural risks that can erode a long-hold position. Bushfire overlays, flood-zone exposure, and economic concentration sit outside the price feed but determine whether your capital is insurable, defensible, and structurally protected. Unlock to see.
Are there hidden structural risks shaping Grafton's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Grafton carries risk signals a median can't show — hazard exposure from bushfire and flood overlays, and how narrowly local employment leans on a handful of sectors (the concentration the EDI score quantifies). Together these separate insurable, defensible long-holds from those carrying tail-risk that never surfaces in the headline number.
MADI Risk
EDI Risk
Bushfire
Flood
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Critical to know
Supply & Demand
Grafton's headline numbers show where the market is today. The two cards below answer where it's heading. Direction is what separates a buy from a wait.
Is housing supply tightening or building up?
Stock on Market is one number — the trend is what matters. SoM, inventory, building approvals and hold period together reveal whether the market is starving for stock (price pressure up) or quietly building a pipeline (pressure down).
Stock on Market
Inventory
Building Approvals
Hold Period
Is buyer and renter demand heating up or cooling off?
Vacancy is one signal — the real question is whether demand is still building or quietly peaking. Days on market, vacancy, search index and clearance rate are the four pulse-points — when they diverge, they signal a turning point.
Days on Market
Vacancy Rate
Search Index
Clearance Rate
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Fundamentals
Grafton can look solid on the surface — but the three layers below separate markets that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Is Grafton genuinely stable - or just expensive?
IRSAD hints at affluence, but socio-economic strength alone doesn't guarantee resilience. Combined with the renter-to-owner balance and unit-to-house ratio, you get the three signals that separate a tightly-held submarket from one carrying hidden volatility.
IRSAD
Renter to Owner
Units to Houses
Where do Grafton prices go over the next 12 months?
Today's headline price is just a snapshot. Projected ROI and the volatility index tell you whether to commit capital now, wait for a softer entry, or rotate into a steadie submarket.
Projected Annual ROI
Volatility Index
Can you actually buy into Grafton - and exit cleanly?
Tightly-held areas reward long-hold investors but punish anyone who needs liquidity. Annual sales and rental volume reveal whether your capital can reposition — or sits structurally locked in.
Annual Sales Volume
Annual Rental Volume
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Important to know
Education & Infrastructure
Grafton looks tightly-held and stable on the surface — but the three layers below separate areas that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Does Grafton's school catchment + infrastructure pipeline justify the price?
School ranks anchor family demand and tenant quality. The active infrastructure pipeline shifts a suburb's price ceiling over the next 5–10 years. Together they tell you whether Grafton has structural support for the next leg of capital growth.
School Rank
Hospitals & Employment
Infrastructure Spend
Transport Projects
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Full HtAG Intelligence
Grafton shows potential. The platform tells you whether it's the best fit for your portfolio.
Price and yield are only the surface. HtAG reads the forces underneath — supply tightening or loosening, demand heating or cooling, and the risks that move slowly but decide long-term growth. Together they show whether Grafton has the structural support for its next leg — or whether the numbers are running ahead of the fundamentals.
The total adult population (15 years or older) of Grafton 2460 NSW is 8,699, with a median age of 44. Of those, 38.11% are married, 16.51% are divorced or separated, 35.80% are single and 9.61% are widowed.
The average household size is 2.2 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $6,036. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $1,348 which is 22.33% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)