Leumeah has been a suburb of relative stability in the past five years, with income, mortgage and age remaining almost unchanged.

The population has only increased marginally with 400 new residents calling Leumeah home, and 78 dwellings have been built since 2011.

These are the findings of the 2016 Census, which shows Leumeah as an established suburb where the rental market is on the rise.

So let’s take a closer look at what’s happened in Leumeah in the past five years…

Who lives in Leumeah

With a median age of 35, the population of Leumeah comprises 50.7% women and 49.3% males. Exactly one fifth of residents are aged under 15, and of those 15 and above 46.2% are married.

A further 35.8% have never been married, 9.2% are divorced, 4.6% are widowed and 4.2% are separated. These figures have altered little since 2011, but indicate an aging population. In 2011 residents over 65 years accounted for 11.2% of the population but now account for 14.2% despite the median age remaining 35.

Almost three quarters of the population (73.5%) lives with family, 23.9% of the population lives alone, and 2.6% of residents live in group accommodation. And the majority of those families (44.8%) include children, with family households averaging 1.8 children each. This is a rise on five years ago when 43.1% of family households featured children with the average also being 1.8 children per family household.

Almost one third (32.3%) of households are couples without children, and 21.3% are single parent families.

How Leumeah fares financially

With a median household income of $1298, Leumeah residents are not quite as well off financially as either the NSW or Australian norms. The median NSW income is $1486, while the Australian median is $1438, but Leumeah residents are doing better than they were five years ago.

In 2011 the median household income was $1144 and only 6.8% of households had a weekly income above $3000 while 25.5% had an income below $600. Now 10% of households earn above $3000 each week, and only 20.5 fall below $650 in weekly income.

Of that pay cheque, $330 goes to rent each week, while $1753 goes to a monthly mortgage. In 2011 the monthly mortgage was marginally less at $1733, while rent was significantly cheaper at $260 per week.

How Leumeah residents live

Chances are, if you live in Leumeah, you reside in a three-bedroom separate house, with 76.5% of the housing stock being stand alone houses. A further 16.3% are duplexes or townhouses, while just 7.1% of Leumeah dwellings are units or flats.

This shows little change since 2011 when 76.6% of housing was separate, 15.6% was duplex or townhouse dwellings, and 7.5% comprised units or flats.

Meanwhile by far the majority (47.1%) of the population live in three-bedroom homes. A further 26% live in homes with four bedrooms or more, and 20.7% are in two-bedroom properties.

When it comes to home ownership, over 60% of the population own their own home and 37.1% rent. Within that home ownership segment, 26.7% own their property outright, compared to 31% nationally, and 33.2% are paying a mortgage.

This indicates an increase in the rental market. In 2011 only 32.5% of the population rented, 37.1% owned their home with a mortgage, and 27.5% owned their property outright.

The final word

Leumeah remains a suburb that many families call home, with an equal spread of the population across the younger and older demographics. In many ways it is a traditional Australian suburb where most people live in three-bedroom homes, and the income reflects the national norm.

It is, however, an area where more people are choosing to rent, which is reflected in the rising rental price and the number of people leasing rather than owning their home.

About United Strata

United Strata specialises in real estate within the Macarthur region. We boast a wealth of insight into the current and future position of property in the region.

You can learn more about our services here, or contact us directly for further advice.