Carine, WA 6020Home loan and property guide

Carine location and character

Carine lies in Perth's northern suburbs within the City of Stirling, about 13 km north-west of the Perth CBD. It is bounded by Beach Road to the north, the Mitchell Freeway to the east and Marmion Avenue to the west, with Reid Highway running across its southern edge near North Beach Road. Duncraig, in the City of Joondalup, lies across Beach Road, while Hamersley, Karrinyup, North Beach and Watermans Bay are among the neighbouring City of Stirling suburbs.

The City of Stirling records that Carine was named after two swamps in the area and once formed part of the Hamersley Estate. The land stayed largely undeveloped until the 1960s, with only a few market gardens on the low-lying ground around the wetlands. Those wetlands, Big Carine Swamp and Little Carine Swamp, now sit within Carine Regional Open Space at the centre of the suburb, and the City notes that Carine has one of the largest areas of public open space of any suburb in the municipality.

Transport and amenity in Carine

Carine has no railway station. The nearest is Warwick Station, immediately to the north-east in neighbouring Warwick. METRONET states that the former Joondalup Line was renamed the Yanchep Line, which opened for passenger service to Yanchep on 15 July 2024. Public Transport Authority route data shows buses 441 to 444 running along Beach Road between Warwick and Whitfords stations, and routes 423, 424 and 425 linking the suburb with Warwick Station, Stirling Station and Karrinyup Bus Station.

By road, the Mitchell Freeway forms the eastern boundary and Reid Highway crosses the southern edge, while Marmion Avenue runs along the western side and Beach Road along the northern side. Parts of the suburb, particularly the south-west, are well beyond walking distance of Warwick Station, so buyers who expect to commute by train may wish to check which bus route serves a particular street.

Carine Regional Open Space, on Okely Road, holds sporting fields, clubrooms, a skate park, a regional playground and a dog exercise park, and the City consulted in 2025 on a concept plan to renew the playground. Government schools in the suburb are Carine Senior High School and Carine Primary School. Larger shopping is in neighbouring suburbs, at Karrinyup and Warwick. Osborne Park Hospital in Stirling is a public hospital without an emergency department, and Glengarry Private Hospital is in Duncraig.

Housing stock in Carine

Housing in Carine is overwhelmingly detached. The City of Stirling notes that most homes have been built since the 1970s, so the stock is generally of modern brick design, with a large proportion of double-storey houses positioned to capture ocean views, particularly in the west and near the open space. Building inspections of homes of this age commonly examine roof coverings, original wet areas and the approval status of patios, pools and upper-floor additions.

The main exception is the former Carine TAFE site near Marmion Avenue and Almadine Drive. A local structure plan prepared in 2012 provided for a retirement village, residential aged care, a small mixed-use component and medium and high density housing, and the developer reports that the Carine Rise estate was completed in 2015 with residential lots, townhouses, apartments and aged care. Elsewhere, the City observes that duplexes have become more common as infill has spread. Small, low-maintenance dwellings outside that precinct remain scarce.

Who lives and buys in Carine

The 2021 Census counted 7,330 residents in Carine, with a median age of 43 against 38 for Australia and an average household size of 2.8 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Children aged 5 to 14 formed the largest age group, at 1,177 people, followed by residents aged 65 to 74, at 1,042. Of 2,458 occupied private dwellings, 2,114 were separate houses, 250 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and 100 were flats or apartments, so houses made up 86.0 per cent of occupied homes against 72.3 per cent nationally.

Owner-occupation is unusually high. The Census recorded 1,100 dwellings owned outright, 1,052 owned with a mortgage and only 233 rented, so 44.9 per cent of households with a stated tenure owned outright, 43.0 per cent had a mortgage and 9.5 per cent rented, against 31.0 per cent, 35.0 per cent and 30.6 per cent across Australia. Four-bedroom homes numbered 1,372, more than half of all occupied dwellings. Median monthly mortgage repayments were $2,340 against $1,863 nationally, and median weekly rent was $450 against $375.

For a buyer, these figures describe a settled suburb of large family homes held mostly by owner-occupiers, with a rental pool too small to attract many investors. Median weekly household income was $2,442, compared with $1,746 nationally. Upgrading families are the most likely purchasers of the four-bedroom houses, downsizers look to the townhouses and to the 96 apartments in blocks of four to eight storeys, and first home buyers tend to look to the 570 three-bedroom homes and to duplex halves.

Planning, open space and hazard mapping in Carine

Planning is governed by the City of Stirling Local Planning Scheme No. 3. The City describes Carine as predominantly low density, with an R20 coding, and state scheme mapping places the former TAFE land in a Development zone. The City has prepared a draft Local Planning Scheme No. 4 and is working on a new Local Planning Strategy, which it intends to present for community consultation in 2026. Carine is not on the City's published list of suburbs that may contain planning areas for urban change, although neighbouring Karrinyup is.

The state Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas, the latest version of which took effect on 13 December 2025, designates land around Carine Regional Open Space, along parts of the western and north-western edges near Marmion Avenue and Beach Road, and in the south-east near the Reid Highway and Mitchell Freeway interchange. There, a Bushfire Attack Level assessment and higher construction standards may apply to new building work. State floodplain mapping does not extend into Carine, although the two swamps are mapped as conservation category wetlands.

Traffic noise is the other mapped consideration. State Planning Policy 5.4 identifies the Mitchell Freeway corridor, which also carries the railway, and Reid Highway as major transport routes, with Marmion Avenue and Beach Road mapped as other significant traffic routes, so new noise-sensitive development near them can attract acoustic requirements. Heritage controls are minimal: the State Register of Heritage Places lists Briggs Kiln, an old lime kiln beside Reid Highway, and no heritage areas are mapped in the suburb.

Buying an established family home in Carine

Most Carine sales are private sales of established houses made on an offer and acceptance form. Consumer Protection WA explains that the signed form becomes a binding contract once both parties have agreed all terms, that Western Australia has no mandatory seller disclosure statement, and that there is no mandatory cooling-off period. Buyers therefore rely on conditions written into the offer, typically finance approval and satisfactory building and timber pest inspections.

Upgraders often make an offer subject to the sale of their existing home. Consumer Protection WA notes that, under the standard conditions, a seller who receives another offer can then give the first buyer 48 hours to make the contract unconditional. It also suggests checking whether work done in the past ten years had council approval, which is relevant to Carine's many extended two-storey homes. Any deposit is negotiated and held in trust until settlement. Transfer duty is assessed by RevenueWA, and the stamp duty calculator on this site gives a general estimate.

Home loan considerations for Carine property

Detached houses on standard residential lots are the most widely accepted form of security, and the large number of broadly similar four-bedroom homes gives valuers a deep pool of comparable sales. For most buyers the constraint is loan size: lenders assess repayments at a buffer above the actual rate, so serviceability tends to set the limit. Upgraders who buy before selling may need bridging finance. The borrowing power calculator on this site shows how income and existing debts affect the amount a lender may offer.

Other stock raises different questions. Duplex halves and survey-strata lots are generally acceptable security, though valuers may comment on shared driveways or common walls. Apartments in the former TAFE precinct bring strata levies into the serviceability assessment, and retirement village units, which the structure plan provided for, are usually held under lease or licence arrangements that standard home loans do not cover. Buyers with a small deposit will usually pay lenders mortgage insurance.

Lending considerations for Carine

• Large family houses require larger loans, so serviceability at the lender's assessment rate, not the property type, is usually the limiting factor.
• Upgraders who buy before selling may need bridging finance, or an offer condition that makes the purchase subject to the sale of an existing home.
• Western Australian contracts have no mandatory cooling-off period, so finance and inspection conditions need to be written into the offer before signing.
• Unapproved patios, pools and upper-floor additions can delay a valuation or settlement if the lender asks for evidence of council approval.
• Apartments carry strata levies that reduce borrowing capacity, and retirement village units are generally outside standard home loan products.
• Houses beside the Mitchell Freeway, Reid Highway or Marmion Avenue may attract valuer comment on traffic noise.

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.