Claremont, WA 6010Home loan and property guide

Claremont location and character

Claremont lies approximately 8 km west of the Perth CBD, between Lake Claremont in the north and Freshwater Bay on the Swan River in the south. The Town of Claremont, the local government for the suburbs of Claremont and Swanbourne, covers almost all of the suburb, and Landgate boundary data places small slivers at its edges in neighbouring councils. Stirling Highway and the Fremantle railway both cross the suburb from east to west, and the town centre sits between them around Bay View Terrace.

The Town records that a convict depot was established at Freshwater Bay in 1853, that the Claremont Roads Board was elected in 1893 and that the Municipality of Claremont followed in 1898, becoming the Town of Claremont in 1961. Claremont Railway Station, the Claremont Post Office, the former Claremont Teachers College and Christ Church are among the places on the State Register of Heritage Places.

Transport and amenity in Claremont

Claremont Station is served by the Transperth Fremantle Line, and the Airport Line timetable shows Claremont as the western terminus of trains that run through central Perth to the airport stations and High Wycombe. Showgrounds Station, also within the suburb, is marked on Transperth timetables as a special events station, and Public Transport Authority records place one platform of Swanbourne Station inside the western boundary and Loch Street Station just across the eastern boundary in Karrakatta.

Retail is concentrated in the town centre, where Claremont Quarter on Bay View Terrace is the main shopping centre. State planning policy classes the centre as a secondary centre. Bethesda Hospital, which describes itself as a private, independent hospital delivering surgical and palliative care, is on Queenslea Drive near the river. Claremont Showground, the events venue of the Royal Agricultural Society of WA and the address given for the Perth Royal Show, is on Graylands Road in the north-east.

The Town describes Lake Claremont as a conservation category wetland, with a walking path, playgrounds and a cafe around it, and it also lists a par 3 golf course, the Claremont Aquatic Centre, the Claremont Museum and the Bay View Community Centre among its facilities. Schools in the suburb are Freshwater Bay Primary School, a government school, St Thomas' Primary School, a Catholic school, and two independent schools, Christ Church Grammar School for boys and Methodist Ladies' College for girls.

Housing stock in Claremont

Claremont has an unusually even spread of dwelling types. The older residential streets hold mainly single-storey houses, and the Town's heritage documents classify many listed buildings in Federation and inter-war styles. A local planning policy on the retention of residential character states that single-storey streetscapes are greatly valued and seeks to keep upper-storey additions from dominating the street. Building inspections of houses of this age commonly report ageing roofs, old wiring, rising damp and past additions of varying quality.

Apartments and townhouses are concentrated near the station and the highway. The Claremont on the Park project in the Town's North East Precinct has introduced apartment buildings beside Claremont Oval and the station, and the Town reports that The Terraces, an eight-storey mixed-use building at 3 Shenton Road, was under construction in 2026 with completion projected for March 2027. The 2021 Census counted 600 apartments in blocks of four to eight storeys and 248 in blocks of nine or more storeys.

Who lives and buys in Claremont

The 2021 Census counted 9,248 residents in Claremont, with a median age of 44 against 38 for Australia and an average household size of 2.2 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Of 3,798 occupied private dwellings, 1,483 were separate houses, 1,316 were flats or apartments and 991 were semi-detached, terrace or townhouse dwellings. Houses therefore made up 39.0 per cent of occupied homes, apartments 34.6 per cent and townhouses 26.1 per cent, against national shares of 72.3 per cent, 14.2 per cent and 12.6 per cent.

Outright ownership was the leading tenure. The Census recorded 1,510 dwellings owned outright, 1,240 rented and 886 owned with a mortgage, so 40.2 per cent of households with a stated tenure owned outright, compared with 31.0 per cent across Australia, while 33.0 per cent rented against 30.6 per cent. Median weekly household income was $2,068 compared with $1,746 nationally, median weekly rent was $460 against $375, and median monthly mortgage repayments were $2,800 against $1,863.

The age profile is older than the national one: 1,032 residents were aged 65 to 74, 916 were aged 75 to 84 and 452 were 85 or over, although the largest ten-year group was 45 to 54 years, with 1,150 people. Three-bedroom dwellings were the most common size at 1,298 homes, followed by 1,143 with two bedrooms. For a buyer, the figures describe a market shared by downsizers, established owners and renters, with apartments and townhouses trading alongside family houses.

Planning, heritage and river foreshore risks in Claremont

Development is controlled by the Town of Claremont Local Planning Scheme No. 3. The Town states that a new Local Planning Strategy was approved in October 2024 and that the Western Australian Planning Commission approved the Town Centre Precinct Structure Plan on 24 September 2024. Its major projects page lists a 16-storey mixed-use tower at 22 St Quentin Avenue, approved by the Commission in 2023, and a proposed hotel and apartment development on Bay View Terrace, so buyers near the centre may wish to check what has been approved nearby.

Heritage controls are widespread. The Town keeps a Heritage List under the scheme, has designated heritage areas along Bay View Terrace and Claremont Crescent, and states that demolition of a listed place requires development approval, which is generally not supported unless the place has little cultural significance. West of Stirling Road, part of the suburb falls within the frame of the Swanbourne station precinct in the state's Station Precincts Improvement Plan No. 65, with zoning controls to be set in a later improvement scheme.

The Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas designates land around the Lake Claremont bushland and along the vegetated river escarpment, where additional planning and building requirements may apply. Department of Water and Environmental Regulation floodplain mapping for the Swan River touches only the foreshore edge. The Town adopted a Sand Management Plan for the river foreshore in 2021, noting that the estuarine beaches are narrow and low lying, with private properties close to the shore, and that minor erosion or inundation can occur.

Buying in Claremont: offers, strata disclosure and heritage checks

Private sales in Western Australia are normally made on an offer and acceptance form. Consumer Protection WA explains that the form becomes a binding contract once the seller signs the buyer's offer and all terms are agreed, that there is no mandatory cooling-off period and that the state has no mandatory seller disclosure statement. Landgate states that the seller of a strata lot must give the buyer a precontractual disclosure statement before the contract is signed, and that failure to do so may allow the buyer to avoid the contract or delay settlement.

For houses, conditions for finance approval and for building and timber pest inspections are the usual protections, and a check of the Town's Heritage List before signing shows whether approval would be needed for later alterations. Consumer Protection WA notes that a deposit is negotiable and is generally held in a trust account until settlement. Transfer duty is assessed by RevenueWA and is usually the largest upfront cost, alongside settlement agent and registration fees. The stamp duty calculator on this site gives a general estimate.

Home loan considerations for Claremont property

For apartments, lenders look at the building as well as the borrower. Some apply minimum internal floor areas, limit their exposure to a single building or apply lower maximum loan-to-value ratios to high-density and mixed-use buildings. Strata levies are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power, and valuers take account of the reserve fund, the maintenance plan and any planned remedial works. Off-the-plan purchases are valued again close to settlement, so an early approval is not a guarantee of finance.

Houses in Claremont often involve large loans. Some lenders apply tighter loan-to-value limits, extra credit checks or second valuations above internal loan size thresholds, and lenders mortgage insurance may be unavailable or restricted at higher amounts, so a larger deposit is commonly needed. Heritage-listed homes are generally accepted as security, although valuers consider restrictions on alteration and the condition of original fabric. Downsizers who buy before selling may wish to ask how bridging finance affects serviceability.

Lending considerations for Claremont

• Some lenders restrict small apartments, mixed-use buildings or their total exposure to one building, which can lower the maximum loan available.
• Strata levies, the reserve fund and planned remedial works affect both valuation and serviceability for apartments and townhouses.
• Large loans for houses may attract lower maximum loan-to-value ratios or second valuations, and mortgage insurance may be restricted.
• Places on the Town's Heritage List need approval for most works, and valuers factor restrictions on alteration into their assessments.
• Western Australian contracts carry no mandatory cooling-off period, so finance and inspection conditions need to be written into the offer.
• Off-the-plan apartments are valued and assessed again near settlement, so an early approval is not a guarantee of finance.

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.