Lake Illawarra real estate
NSW 2528 · Shellharbour City Council · About 6 km from our Shell Cove office
The suburb
Living in Lake Illawarra
Lake Illawarra, the suburb, takes in the southern side of the lake's entrance, with Windang across the bridge to the north and Warilla and Mount Warrigal beside it. It was known as Lake Illawarra South, the name its public school still carries. Before the war it was a holiday spot, with guesthouses and summer campers by the lake, and houses went up through the 1950s and 1960s.
Most homes date from those post-war decades, and many have been renovated or rebuilt. The houses facing the water along Reddall Parade are the most wanted, and the streets behind are mostly family homes on suburban blocks. Buyers include families, downsizers and people who want to fish and boat on the lake, with Windang's beach just across the bridge.
The market
Prices and rents in Lake Illawarra
Median house price, postcode 2528
+6.4% on a year earlier
Median unit or townhouse price, 2528
+35.4% on a year earlier
Median weekly rent, houses, 2528
+2.9% on a year earlier
Median weekly rent, units, 2528
−1% on a year earlier
Postcode sale prices: NSW Rent and Sales Report, March quarter 2026, sales in postcode 2528. Rents: NSW Rent and Sales Report, June quarter 2026, median of new bonds lodged with NSW Fair Trading for postcode 2528. © State of New South Wales (Department of Communities and Justice), CC BY 4.0. Medians are a guide, not a valuation. Compare all suburbs.
Living here
The foreshore and the lake entrance
Reddall Reserve on Reddall Parade is the centre of things, with an inclusive playground, barbecues, picnic shelters, a boat ramp and a fish-cleaning station on the water. It is also where the Lake Illawarra Art Trail begins, a series of sculptures along the foreshore, one of them a steel frame that looks across to Windang Island. A shared path follows the shoreline for walking and cycling.
Lake Illawarra South Public School and Lake Illawarra High School are both on Reddall Parade, the high school on the lake foreshore. Windang Bridge, first opened in 1938 and rebuilt with four lanes in 1972, leads to Windang's beach, club and shops. Warilla Grove and Stockland Shellharbour are a short drive south, and Shellharbour Hospital is next door in Mount Warrigal.
Public schools in Lake Illawarra
- Lake Illawarra High School · Secondary School
- Lake Illawarra South Public School · Primary School
The people
Who lives in Lake Illawarra
People
Median age
Median household income a week
- Owned outright 26.6%
- Owned with a mortgage 21%
- Rented 48.3%
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Lake Illawarra (SAL12259). © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Tenure shares are of occupied private dwellings and don't add to 100% where some households didn't say.
Selling
Selling in Lake Illawarra
Here the lake sets the price. Homes facing the water on Reddall Parade sit in a different bracket from the streets behind, and outlook, flood information near the foreshore and the condition of post-war houses all count. Blocks large enough for a rebuild draw extra interest. We sell in Lake Illawarra from our office in Shell Cove and price each home from nearby sales.
Renting it out instead? We manage rental homes in Lake Illawarra too, where houses in the postcode lease for around $700 a week.
Questions
About Lake Illawarra
What is the median house price in Lake Illawarra?
Houses across postcode 2528, which includes Lake Illawarra, sold for a median of $995,000 in the March quarter 2026, up 6.4% on a year earlier, according to the NSW Rent and Sales Report. Prices within a postcode vary a lot from street to street, which is what an appraisal accounts for.
How much does it cost to rent a house in Lake Illawarra?
The median weekly rent for a house across postcode 2528 was $700 in the June quarter 2026, and $495 for a unit, from new bonds lodged with NSW Fair Trading. Ask us for a rental appraisal of your property for a figure that reflects its size and condition.
Do you sell homes in Lake Illawarra?
Yes. Monique Field Property sells and manages homes in Lake Illawarra, about 6 km from our office on Harbour Boulevard in Shell Cove. Book a free appraisal and we'll show you recent sales near you and what we'd expect your home to sell for.
Is Lake Illawarra a suburb or the lake?
Both. Lake Illawarra is the coastal lagoon between Wollongong and Shellharbour, and it is also the name of the Shellharbour suburb on the southern side of its entrance, which takes in Reddall Reserve and Lake Illawarra High School. The suburb is in the City of Shellharbour, while Windang, across the bridge, is in the City of Wollongong.
What's your Lake Illawarra home worth?
A free appraisal from Monique: recent sales near you, what's on the market, and the price range she'd expect.