Central Coast Economic Data Updates

At the daily level, it's interesting to notice that while bookings,
occupancy rates and revenue are clearly seasonal, there has been a
significant downturn in average daily rate (ADR) in May-June 2026, which
had been increasing significantly from Aug 2025 to April 2026:

At the monthly level, the top 3 suburbs showing the highest gross revenue,
both for June and for the last 12 months, are Terrigal, Avoca Beach and
Copacabana. In June, these 3 suburbs generated significantly more gross
Airbnb revenue than any other suburb on the Central Coast:

Year over Year occupancy rates were down for several suburbs in June,
including Terrigal, The Entrance and Ettalong. However, occupancy rates
were up year over year in suburbs including Avoca Beach and Copacabana:

Gross Revenue continues to follow Occupancy Rate closely.

The Central Coast continues to have high STRA Supply compared to most other
LGAs, as well as low Occupancy:

Comparing STRA properties against long term residential vacancies, by
Central Coast postcode, shows that the gap remains significant, despite the
slight increase in long-term residential vacancies in June:

There are more than 5x as many STRA properties (1,681) as there are
available long term rentals (280). By postcode, the outliers are 2251 (426
STRAs, 35 residential rental vacancies) and 2260 (393 STRAs, 37 residential
rental vacancies).

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/CentralCoastTourism-HotelShortTermRentalOccupancy/ShortTermRentalsRevenue

2. New Vehicle Registrations (July 2026)

Date sent: 6 Aug 2026 | Subject: New Vehicle Registrations (July 2026)

I've just updated the new vehicle registrations data to add in the July
data which just released:

For the Central Coast, the proportion of sales of new Petrol/Diesel
vehicles was 49%, which is the first time this has dropped below 50%. By
way of comparison, in Jan 2026, this was 69%. In other words, more than
half of all new vehicles sold on the Central Coast were EV, PHEV or Hybrid
vehicles. For NSW overall in July, only 48% of new vehicle sales were
Petrol/Diesel vehicles.

Overall, the Central Coast ranked 3rd in NSW in terms of total new vehicle
registrations in July by LGA. July was down slightly Year over Year (1,933
new vehicles registered compared to 1,989 in July 2025) and down Month over
Month (though June is historically the biggest month for new vehicle sales).

However, the cumulative YTD (Jan-July) new vehicle registrations for the
Central Coast reached 14,710 vehicles, which is higher than all prior years
for which we have data:

Looking at this cumulative trend just for EVs, the increase in EV sales is
clear to see:

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/NewVehicleRegistrationsNSW/TransitiontoEVs2

3. Commuting Data Updates (June 2026 data)

Date sent: 6 Aug 2026 | Subject: Commuting Data Updates (June 2026 data)

I've updated the Opal card data from TfNSW to include June 2026.

Looking at the entries (tap ons) at the main train stations on the Central
Coast (Gosford, Woy Woy, Tuggerah and Wyong), there has been a decrease
across the April-June period, after increasing in March:

That being said, June 2026 was higher than June 2025 or June 2024.

For the Central Coast line overall (Adult Opal cards only), the change is
less significant, however it appears that across 2025 and 2026 todal usage
(Opal trips) is lower than in the 2023-2024 period, and much lower than
2019 (pre-COVID) :

Gosford commuter car park usage shows an increase in usage in July, most
significantly on Tuesdays:

The commuter car park continues to be close to capacity Monday-Thurday.
Since April, with Fridays now showing usage, at around 60%.

For the M1 traffic data (traffic counted at Mount White), traffic volumes
Southbound have been increasing from a low in early May 2026 until late
July, having shown a significant decrease between Feb-April 2026:

It is possible that this trend was caused by the increases in petrol prices
due to the Iran War,
with traffic increasing when petrol prices eased. It will be interesting to
monitor this trend, to see if traffic reduces once again now that the fuel
excise cut has ended.

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/GosfordCarParkUsage/DailyTrainStationEntriesExits

4. Building Approvals data (June 2026)

Date sent: 12 Aug 2026 | Subject: Building Approvals data (June 2026)

I've updated the latest (June) building approvals data from ABS,
which includes LGA and SA2 level building approvals.

At the suburb level, for the last 12 months (July 2025 - June 2026), the
majority of the building approvals have been in Warnervale, Lake Munmorah,
and The Entrance:

The time-series trend shows that June 2026 was up Year over Year, primarily
driven by an increase in Building Approvals for houses:

At the Financial Year level, approvals for houses in FY25-26 are the
highest since FY21-22, and approvals for semi-detached houses are higher
than all prior Financial Years for which we have data. Approvals for
units/apartments in FY25-26 continue to be disappointing however, being the
lowest since at least FY18-19:

This suggests that issues relating to a lack of affordable housing may not
have been adequately addressed in FY25-26.

In terms of total approved dwellings in FY25-26 Central Coast
ranked 6th compared to other LGAs in NSW. However, the rate (per 100,000
population), is still low at only 59.9 approved dwellings per 100,000
population. Many of the LGAs with higher number of building approvals in
FY25-26 are showed significant more approvals for units/apartments than the
Central Coast:

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/ResidentialBuildingApprovalsLGAlevel_15947800026170/BuildingApprovalsSuburb

5. Suburb-level 'Analytics' dashboard

Date sent: 16 Aug 2026 | Subject: Suburb-level 'Analytics' dashboard

I've been working on a prototype of a kind of 'analytics' dashboard which
brings together multiple economic & socio-economic indicators for each
suburb/locality. It's something Andrew Powrie and I had discussed last
year. There are various ways to view the data such as in a map, scatter
plot or even a report, but I just added this interface which I think could
be useful:

*Key Indicators:*

*Full Interface:*

Let me know what you think.

Dashboard Link: https://pspedding.github.io/nsw-regional-dashboard-dev/?LGA=11650&tab=Indicators

6. DSS Benefit Recipient data (Q2 2026)

Date sent: 16 Aug 2026 | Subject: DSS Benefit Recipient data (Q2 2026)

I've just updated the DSS Social Security Benefit Recipients data, to
include Q2 2026.

The number of Age Pension recipients increased by 195 to 49, 555 (13.7% of
the population), with the largest number being in the Umina/Ettalong area
(4,270 - 17.2%). The highest proportion of recipients are in the Lake
Munmorah area (24.4%). As can be seen from the sparkline in the dasbhoard
below, the number of recipients has been increasing since March 2024.

There are also now 82,090 Pension Concession Card holders on the Central
Coast - this is up by 315 since March 2026. The total number of recipients
of this benefit has been increasing since June 2023.

At the LGA level, Central Coast still has the highest total number of Age
Pension recipients of any LGA in NSW, but not the highest proportion (14.2%,
compared to 22.2% for the Mid-Coast LGA):

Comparing the Central Coast employment participation rate for June 2026
against selected benefit types, it can be seen that the proportion of Age
Pension recipients continues to correlate closely with the Employment
Participation Rate, i.e. it is as expected, when compared against other
LGAs. However, the Participation Rate remains lower than should be expected
based on the rate of Jobseekers and Disability Support recipients.

In other words, the continued low Employment Participation Rate of the
Central Coast is only partially explained by the combined effect of the
number of age pension recipients, disability support recipients and
jobseekers.

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/EconomicandSocio-EconomicSummary-CentralCoast/ParticipationRateAnalysis

7. Property Market data (July 2026)

Date sent: 17 Aug 2026 | Subject: Property Market data (July 2026)

I've just updated the property market data to include the June 2026 data.

Overall, the median house price trend remained flat in July compared to
May/June, with the strongest growth again seen in suburbs with lower median
house prices. The total number of suburbs with a median house price over
$1M increased to 49, from 47 in June, with Gosford increasing to above $1M
median house price. Several suburbs are approaching a median house price of
$1M, including Wadalba, Noraville, Niagara Park and Wyoming. The hottest
suburbs in terms of interested buyers continue to be Terrigal, Wamberal,
Umina Beach and Bateau Bay.

In terms of median unit prices, these have continued to rise strongly
across the Central Coast:

The overall median price for units started to increase much more than the
long term trend in Dec 2025, a trend that has continued through July 2026.

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/RentalHousingAffordability-CentralCoastNSW/PropertyMarket

8. Residential Rental Market data (July 2026)

Date sent: 17 Aug 2026 | Subject: Residential Rental Market data (July 2026)

I've just updated the datasets and dashboards to add in the June 2026 data
for residential vacancies/rates and weekly asking rents.

1. *Residential Vacancies* - the total number of residential vacancies
dropped in July to 419 (down from 434 in June and 423 in May). Postcodes
2260 and 2263 showed the biggest decrease month over month, while postcodes
2251, 2257 and 2261 showed an increase:

All postcodes are still well below the 'market equilibrium' level of 3%.

2. *Weekly Asking Rents* - house rents in July showed a decrease in most
postcodes, with postcodes 2251 and 2260 (the most expensive postcodes to
rent), showing the most significant drop:

However, weekly rent in postcodes 2250 and 2263 are still trending up. The
most expensive postcode to rent houses is now 2251 ($838/week) followed by
2260 ($812/week).

For apartments/units, the trend is still up, with only 2257, 2262 and 2263
showing a recent decrease in weekly asking rents. Average weekly rents for
units range from $512/week (2263) to $834/week (2260):

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/RentalHousingAffordability-CentralCoastNSW/PropertyMarket

9. DA assessment data (July 2026)

Date sent: 18 Aug 2026 | Subject: DA assessment data (July 2026)

(Council Scorecard), to add the July 2026 data.

Overall, average assessment days for all DAs (residential + commercial)
decreased to 126 days, from 144 days in June 2026 (a decrease of 18 days,
though still 36 days worse than expected):

By way of comparison, Lake Macquarie LGA had an average of 99 assessment
days (5 days worse than expected) and Newcastle LGA had an average of 65
assessment days (= expectation days)

For Residential DAs in July 2026, Central Coast averaged 108 assessment
days (18 days worse than expected), with 64% of the 882 assessed
applications meeting expectations. The only LGA with a higher average
assessment days was Inner West Sydney, at 118 days:

It should be noted that the July average of 108 days was 33 days lower than
the June average for Residential DAs (141 days).

For Commercial DAs in July, the Central Coast averaged 146 assessment days
(56 days worse than expected), with only 50% meeting expectations:

Only Tamworth had higher average assessment days for Commercial DAs.

It is worth noting that average assessment days for Commercial DAs (146
days) is 38 days worse than for Residential DAs (108 days). This suggests
that Residential DAs are being prioritised over Commercial DAs, with
implications for Economic Development in the region.

Comparing average assessment days performance at the beginning and end of
each Financial Year, we can see how Central Coast average assessment days
for all DAs improved at the start of FY25-26 and again at the start of
FY26-27:

In FY24-25, average assessment days started at 157 days and finished at 169
days, whereas in FY25-26 it started at 152 days and dropped to 144 days by
June 2026, dropping again to 126 days at the start of FY26-27.

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/ePlanningPortal-LGABenchmarking_17427023693080/CommercialDABenchmark

10. Traffic data (Waze)

Date sent: 18 Aug 2026 | Subject: Traffic data (Waze)

I've just updated the traffic incident data, which we get from Waze. This
includes accidents, traffic jams, and hazards like pot holes, and traffic
'irregularities' (slowdowns etc). The data is up to 17th Aug.

Accidents:

The long term trend for accidents is up, with most being recorded on the
M1. Most accidents on local roads occur on Fridays.

Looking at the data geospacially, it is clear to see how accidents are
concentrated around the major arterial roads on the Central Coast:

Looking at the traffic irregularities data, most are related to the M1
traffic:

Peats Ridge Road, Old Pacific Highway, Old Maitland Road,Woodbury Park
Drive, Hue Hue Road and Wyong Road are also significantly affected by
traffic irregularities and slowdowns.

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/CentralCoastTrafficDataWaze/AccidentsbyLocation?publish=yes

11. Economic data updates (Jobseeker, Job Vacancies, Unemployment Rate)

Date sent: 28 Aug 2026 | Subject: Economic data updates (Jobseeker, Job Vacancies, Unemployment Rate)

I've just finishing updating the economic data to include July 2026. Here
is a summary:

1. *Overview*: Central Coast unemployment/unemployment rate increased in
July, and the number of jobseeker repicients continue to increase. However,
job vacancies increased slightly:

2. *Jobseeker Recipients*: The number of jobseeker benefit recipients
increased by 80 to 12,685 in July (from 12,625 in June and 12,535 in May).
Several suburbs, particularly those in the North of the Central Coast,
showed an increase Month over Month:

The total number of Jobseekers is at its highest point since March 2022:

3. *Labour Force Unemployment: *The unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in
July, up from 4.2% in June:

The participation rate remained steady at 61.3%, however this (and the
employment to population ratio) are still very low compared to other LGA's
in NSW:

The unemployment rate is now among the highest in the region:

*Youth unemployment *increased to 11.2% in July, up from 10.7% in June..
This is 1.5% higher than it was in July 2025:

Seasonally, the total number of unemployed in the age 15-24 range in July
2026 is the highest since July 2020.

Comparing the Central Coast to the National data shows that the Central
Coast unemployment rate was again higher than the national unemployment
rate in July:

In the last 35 months, the Central Coast unemployment rate has only been
higher than the National rate on 6 occassions and equal to it on 4
occasions. In other words, in 25 of the prior 35 months (71%) the Central
Coast unemployment rate has been higher than the National average.

4. *Job Vacancies:* Job vacancies increased slightly to 1,473 in July, from
1,423 in June.However, this is still down from the 1,686 jobs listed in
November 2025.

The month over month decrease was seen across occupations including
Managers/Administrators and Professionals. Year over year, the worst
affected occupations are Technicians/Trades Workers, followed by
Professionals, Health/Therapy Professionals, and Food Trades workers. The
highest growth year over year was seen in Medical Practioners/Nurses (+121
job vacancies):

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/EconomicandSocio-EconomicSummary-CentralCoast/CentralCoastEconomicTrends

12. Retail Spend data updates (July 2026)

Date sent: 29 Aug 2026 | Subject: Retail Spend data updates (July 2026)

I've updated the retail spend data and dashboards, to include the data for
July 2026.

Total retail spend (specifically discretionary spend:
pubs/bars/restaurants/takeways/fast food/tourism/entertainment) for the
Central Coast in July 2026 was $135.1M (Visitor Spend $32.7M, Resident
Spend $102.4M) which was up from June 2025. Total night-time spend for
these categories was also up Month over Month and Year over Year (July
2025: $36.7M; July 2026: $38.5M).

Terrigal was up Month over Month for both visitor and resident night-time
spend, and up Year over Year for visitor night-time spend. However, Year
over Year resident night-time spend was down:

In July, visitor night-time spend made up 31% of total night-time spendin
Terrigal, and 22% overall across the Central Coast.

Looking at total weekend spend for the same retail categories as above,
resident spend increased back towards the long term trend, however visitor
spend remained below the long term trend:

In terms of suburbs on the Coast, Terrigal remains the biggest in terms of
total visitor night-time spend (cafes/restaurants/takeaways), however,
Gosford now exceeds Terrigal for resident night-time spend:

For Central Coast resident commuter spend in Sydney, spend in takeaway/fast
food outlets decreased significantly in June/July, offset slightly by an
increase in cafe spend:

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/central.coast.council/viz/RetailSpend/NightTimeEconomy

13. Businesses and Occupations data

Date sent: 30 Aug 2026 | Subject: Businesses and Occupations data

FYI I've just updated the businesses and occupations dashboards, to include
the latest data:

Noticeably, the total number of businesses is increasing year by year, but
the rate of increase is dropping.

Looking at the occupations data, there is a clear shift towards
manager/professional level jobs.

Dashboard Link: https://public.tableau.com/views/BusinessesbyIndustryDivisionbyStatisticalAreaLevel2byEmploymentSizeRanges_15947810460480/BusinessesbyLocation-Trend