The Upper North Shore suburbs of Turramurra, North Turramurra, South Turramurra and Warrawee are famed for their quiet leafy nature, prestigious schools, community feel and good transport links.

However, the type of residential property stock varies across the suburbs. In South Turramurra, away from the railway and main roads, there has been very little housing development in the past few years and separate houses still make up 99 percent of the dwellings. In Turramurra, medium and high density dwellings make up around ten percent of the stock each with the development concentrated around the train station.

Warrawee and North Turramurra have the lowest proportion of separate houses, accounting for 70 percent of dwellings. Although the majority of the remaining stock in North Turramurra is medium density townhouses and retirement apartments compared to the higher density apartment blocks in Warrawee.

According to Savills latest Spotlight research report, Turramurra is forecast to see significant change over the next few years, with the development of the Turramurra Community Hub Masterplan.

Construction is expected to begin in 2020 and the plan aims to transform the area into a vibrant and dynamic location while maintaining the village atmosphere. Plans include new shopping, dining, learning and parking facilities as well as open spaces and new residential development.

According to Sophie Chick, National Head of Residential Research at Savills, House prices across all four suburbs have increased significantly over the past decade with prices rising by 115 per cent across the area on average.

The strong growth has continued over the past year with values rising 18 per cent over the year to April 2017, while other areas in Sydney have seen price growth slow. This has predominately been driven by a lack of houses on the market.

“Growth in apartment values has been slightly lower than houses with an increase of 78 per cent over the past decade. However, similarly to house price growth, price rises over the past year have outperformed the Sydney average with an increase of 13 per cent” she said.

Warrawee is the most expensive suburb in the area with a median house price of $2.6 million in April 2017, nearly two and a half times the average across Sydney. Turramurra is the next most expensive, closely followed by North Turramurra with median house prices of $2.0 million and $1.9 million respectively. South Turramurra is the cheapest suburb in the area with a median house price of $1.6 million, which is still nearly 50 percent more than the Sydney average.

Apartment prices do not follow the same pattern as houses in the area as North Turramurra is the most expensive suburb for apartments with a median price of $1.2 million. Demand from downsizers in the area has dictated larger apartment sizes compared with Turramurra and Warrawee, and the increase in size has most likely driven the spike in prices.

By comparison, there are more one and two bed units in the suburbs with train stations which are more suitable for first home buyers and investors.

Chick said much of the demand for the large houses in the area comes from growing families given the wide range of notable public and private schools, good transport links and proximity to green space. Unsurprisingly, across the suburbs over 50 percent of the residents are families with children compared to an average of 45 percent across Sydney.

“Demand for apartments and townhouses comes from a wide range of sources including first home buyers, investors and downsizers. Downsizers, in particular, play a key role in the housing market in Turramurra and Warrawee as the majority of these buyers have paid off their mortgage on larger family homes, giving them significant buying power on their next, smaller property.

“International buyers are an important source of demand for the housing market across Sydney as both owner occupiers and investors. In the area, 31 percent of residents were born overseas, in line with the Sydney average”.

The factors that attract buyers to Turramurra and Warrawee, including the quiet leafy community, good schools and high quality housing stock, are expected to continue to attract people, particularly growing families, to the area regardless of market conditions.

The revitalisation of Turramurra and the ongoing development of apartments and townhouses along the Pacific Highway will provide a wider range of housing options, which is likely to attract a broader demographic of buyers including first home buyers, downsizers and investors.

Read more about real estate on Sydney's north shore:

The best and worst suburbs to buy off the plan

Where to look for property in 2017: Simon Cohen of Cohen Handler

Top 5 suburbs in Australia for price growth