Horses Reign
1st July 2007

IT covers a mere 3sqkm in Sydney's eastern suburbs, but Kensington holds a wealth of architectural diversity - red brick bungalows alongside new sleek apartment living - and hectares of recreational facilities. Streets are named after some of the world's great racecourses and the suburb is, of course, home to one of the great Aussie tracks, Royal Randwick (in action above).
This is one of the few Sydney precincts where the horse still commands right of way and no wonder - some of the true blue champions of the Australian turf have walked these streets on their way from local stables to the track: Tulloch, King¬ston Town, Gunsynd and Saintly, to name but a few.
The predominant age group in Kensington is 20 to 29 years and households here are mainly professional couples with children.
Schools: There are half a dozen pre-school centres; a public primary and two Catho¬lic primaries; Sydney Boys and Girls highs service the area, along with the Univer¬sity of NSW and Sydney Institute of Technology.
The NSW University campus also embraces Australia's pre¬mier drama school, the National Institute of Dram atic Art, whose graduates include Mel Gibson and Judy Davis.
Transport: At
just 6km from the CBD, it's an easy commute to work and well served by regu¬lar bus services to the city and other nearby destinations.
Attractions: The suburb has five parks covering nearly 25 per cent of the total area, along with a host of sporting/recrea¬tion drawcards including the Australian Golf Club, Moore Park Golf Course, Royal Rand- wick and a hop, skip and jump to Centennial Park. Within comfortable walking distance, too, are the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Sydney Football Stadium, Fox Studios, his¬toric Victoria Barracks, Paddington and Fox Studios and Entertainment Quarter, with its shops, cafes and week¬end markets.
Facilities: Something of an institution in the area is the you-name-it¬we-sell-it Peters of Ken-sington, plenty of local retail outlets and the nearby Supacen¬tre. Anzac Pde carries its own highlights, including one of Sydney's most eccentric eater¬ies, the kitsch Grotta Capri Sea¬food Restaurant, and an enclave of some of Sydney's finest Indone¬sian, Chinese and
Malaysian restau¬rants. There are many medical practices and clinics.
Residex price growth: Houses remain on the expensive side, with a median value of $1,242,500 - up two per cent from last year and 6.4 per cent from three years ago.
We should see them excel in the next five years, with an expected growth of 3.33 per cent per annum above the rest of Sydney.
The median value for units is much lower at $414,500. They have actually come down in value slightly, being 0.77 per cent less than three years ago.
However, apartments are expected to pick up in growth.

Source: Sunday Telegraph Home Ownder