Belmont, WA 6104Home loan and property guide

Belmont location and character

Belmont is located seven kilometres east of Perth's central business district on the southern bank of the Swan River, and is the namesake of the City of Belmont. It adjoins Cloverdale, Rivervale, Kewdale and Redcliffe.

The suburb was part of a land grant assigned to Captain Francis Henry Byrne in 1831, and is believed to have been named Belmont after Byrne's estate in England. The land was purchased by Shepherd Smith of Sydney in 1882, who subdivided it in 1897 and 1898. The local government body based here was originally known as the Belmont Park Road Board, and the suburb itself was known as Belmont Park until it was renamed in 1968.

Today the suburb is mixed-use in character. The western part is primarily industrial and commercial, while the east and north are more residential. That division is the key to understanding the market: where a property sits within the suburb matters considerably more here than in a uniform residential area.

Transport and amenity in Belmont

There is no railway station in Belmont. Redcliffe station on the Airport line lies about 10.8 kilometres from Perth by rail and is reached by bus or car. The Airport line is a branch of the Midland line, running underground between Bayswater and High Wycombe via Perth Airport, with three stations: Redcliffe, Airport Central and High Wycombe.

Transperth buses serve Great Eastern Highway and Belmont Avenue, including high frequency services to Redcliffe station and routes to the city and High Wycombe. By road, Great Eastern Highway is the principal route to and from the city, and Abernethy Road and Belmont Avenue carry local and district traffic.

Belmont Forum is the district shopping centre, and the Swan River foreshore provides open space on the northern side. Schools operate in the suburb and its neighbours, and this guide does not describe school catchments, which the Department of Education can confirm.

Housing stock in Belmont

Belmont's residential areas sit in the east and north, and the housing there combines older detached homes with substantial townhouse infill and a modest apartment component. The western industrial and commercial area is not residential, which is why the suburb's dwelling count is smaller than its land area suggests.

At the 2021 Census, 2,156 of the 2,860 occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 525 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and 171 were flats or apartments, so houses made up 75.4 per cent of occupied homes against 72.3 per cent nationally, while attached dwellings accounted for 18.4 per cent. Three-bedroom homes numbered 1,420 and four-bedroom homes 630.

The Census also recorded 380 unoccupied private dwellings out of 3,235 on Census night. Inspections vary with stock: older houses raise roof condition, cracking associated with ground movement, original services and asbestos-containing materials, while strata dwellings raise levies and common property condition.

Who lives and buys in Belmont

The 2021 Census counted 6,959 residents in Belmont, with a median age of 36 against 38 for Australia and an average household size of 2.3 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Adults aged 25 to 34 were the largest group at 1,425, followed by 1,119 aged 35 to 44 and 847 aged 45 to 54.

Renting leads. The Census recorded 1,273 rented dwellings, 888 owned with a mortgage and 616 owned outright, so 45.2 per cent of households with a stated tenure rented, 31.6 per cent had a mortgage and 21.9 per cent owned outright, against 30.6, 35.0 and 31.0 per cent nationally.

Median weekly household income was $1,557 against $1,746, median monthly mortgage repayments were $1,733 against $1,863 and median weekly rent was $350 against $375. For a buyer, this is an accessible inner-eastern market where investors are strongly represented and the townhouse stock provides entry points below the price of a detached house.

Planning, mixed land use and local factors in Belmont

Development is controlled by the City of Belmont's local planning scheme together with the Residential Design Codes, which set density coding for each lot. Because the suburb is genuinely mixed use, with industrial and commercial land to the west and residential to the east and north, zoning varies far more than in a conventional residential suburb.

That has a direct effect on buyers. Properties near the industrial and commercial area may be affected by traffic, activity and operating hours, and some lenders take a more conservative view of residential security adjoining industrial land. A valuer will also distinguish between an interior residential street and a boundary location.

Perth Airport lies a short distance east, so aircraft movements can be audible in parts of the suburb. Buyers may wish to visit at different times of day and week rather than judging from a single inspection, and to consider the airport's published noise exposure information for the area.

Buying in Belmont under Western Australian contract law

Established houses in Western Australia are normally sold by offer and acceptance. Consumer Protection WA explains that the signed form becomes a binding contract once the seller accepts, and that there is no mandatory cooling-off period, so conditions for finance approval and for building and timber pest inspections need to be written into the offer.

There is no mandatory seller disclosure statement in Western Australia, which matters in a mixed-use suburb where surrounding land use varies. Independent enquiries are therefore important, and where a dwelling is strata titled the strata company records deserve review. Transfer duty is assessed by RevenueWA.

Home loan considerations for Belmont property

Detached houses and townhouses on standard titles are accepted security. The local complication is surrounding land use: where a property adjoins or faces the industrial and commercial area, some lenders take a more conservative view and a valuer may note the effect on value, so buyers borrowing a high share of the price may wish to confirm the lender's position for a specific address.

Strata levies on the townhouse and apartment stock are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power. With renting at 45.2 per cent, investment lending is common and is assessed on different terms, with most lenders discounting rental income.

Lending considerations for Belmont

• The western part of the suburb is industrial and commercial, and lenders may view nearby security conservatively.
• Perth Airport lies a short distance east, so aircraft movements can be audible in parts of the suburb.
• Renting at 45.2 per cent means investment lending is common and assessed on different terms.
• Strata levies on townhouse and apartment stock are counted in serviceability assessments.
• Western Australian contracts have no mandatory cooling-off period and no mandatory seller disclosure statement.

Lender policy differs between institutions and changes over time. The guide to Australian lenders explains how credit policy varies, and the home loan guide sets out the main loan structures.