Aberfoyle Park vs Morphett ValeTwo Adelaide suburbs compared for a home loan
Aberfoyle Park (SA 5159) is approximately 18 km south of the Adelaide CBD, in hilly terrain near Happy Valley. Morphett Vale (SA 5162) is approximately 24 km south of the Adelaide CBD, east of the Southern Expressway. At the 2021 Census, Aberfoyle Park had 11,234 residents with a median age of 42, and Morphett Vale had 24,002 residents with a median age of 40.
In both suburbs the most common occupied dwelling was separate houses. Flats and apartments made up 0% of occupied dwellings in Aberfoyle Park and 0% in Morphett Vale, while 14% of Aberfoyle Park households rented compared with 29% in Morphett Vale. These differences matter for finance, because lenders assess apartments, strata buildings and houses on land differently.
Both suburbs are in the same state, so transfer duty is calculated on the same scale and the difference in upfront cost comes from the purchase price. The panel below applies that scale, and an estimate of lenders mortgage insurance, to the prices you enter.
SA 5159 · Adelaide's southern foothills
Aberfoyle Park
Aberfoyle Park is a hilly southern suburb proclaimed in 1980, built almost entirely of detached family homes and served by buses rather than rail.
City of Onkaparinga. Approximately 18 km south of the Adelaide CBD, in hilly terrain near Happy Valley.
Read the full Aberfoyle Park guideSA 5162 · Adelaide's southern suburbs
Morphett Vale
Morphett Vale is South Australia's largest suburb by population, a historic southern town subdivided in the 1960s with a large rental market and no station.
City of Onkaparinga. Approximately 24 km south of the Adelaide CBD, east of the Southern Expressway.
Read the full Morphett Vale guide
What buying in Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale would mean for the loan
The difference between two suburbs is usually a difference in price, and price drives the deposit, the transfer duty, any lenders mortgage insurance and the repayment. Enter the prices you are seeing and the panel works out each of those for Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale.
Your prices and deposit
Enter the price you are seeing in each suburb. BorrowWise does not quote prices, so the comparison uses yours.
Enter a price for Aberfoyle Park to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.
Enter a price for Morphett Vale to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.
Warning: The interest rate used here is an example only. It is not a comparison rate and is not a rate offered by any lender, and it does not include fees and charges. Different rates, terms, fees or loan amounts will give a different result.
Estimates only. Repayments assume a principal and interest loan at a constant rate, which is an assumption and not a current market rate. Transfer duty is indicative for established homes, first home buyer relief depends on eligibility, and upfront cash includes an allowance of $3,000 for conveyancing and inspections. Lenders mortgage insurance is an estimate and is added to the loan. A lender makes its own assessment.
Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale: Census profile compared
Figures are from the 2021 Census, so rents, repayments and incomes have moved since. They are most useful for comparing one suburb with another and with Australia as a whole.
| Measure | Aberfoyle Park | Morphett Vale |
|---|---|---|
| People and households | ||
| Residents | 11,234 | 24,002 |
| Median ageAustralia 38 | 42 | 40 |
| Average household sizeAustralia 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
| Median household income, weeklyAustralia $1,746 | $1,765 | $1,199 |
| Housing costs at the 2021 Census | ||
| Median rent, weeklyAustralia $375 | $340 | $295 |
| Median mortgage repayment, monthlyAustralia $1,863 | $1,517 | $1,300 |
| Who owns and who rents | ||
| Households rentingAustralia 31% | 14% | 29% |
| Owned with a mortgageAustralia 35% | 48% | 42% |
| Owned outrightAustralia 31% | 34% | 28% |
| Types of home | ||
| Separate housesAustralia 72% | 94% | 85% |
| Townhouses, terraces and semi-detachedAustralia 13% | 5% | 15% |
| Flats and apartmentsAustralia 14% | 0% | 0% |
| Homes with two bedrooms or fewer | 8% | 17% |
| Homes with four bedrooms or more | 36% | 18% |
| Dwellings unoccupied on Census night | 4% | 5% |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0). Tenure shares exclude households that did not state their tenure. Dwelling shares are of occupied private dwellings.
Home loan considerations in Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale
Lenders treat houses on land, townhouses and apartments differently, and some apply extra conditions to small apartments, high-density buildings or particular postcodes. These are the points each guide raises.
Aberfoyle Park
- Upgraders
- First home buyers
- Downsizers
- No flats or apartments were recorded at the 2021 Census, so buyers seeking low-maintenance housing have very limited choice.
- Bushfire referral, Bushfire Attack Level construction standards and insurance cost are the central local lending issues.
- Sloping blocks vary in usable land, access and retaining structures, so valuations of similar houses can differ.
- Building insurance in mapped bushfire areas can differ in price and terms, and lenders require cover at settlement.
- There is no railway station, so buyers relying on public transport depend on the bus network to the city and Marion.
Morphett Vale
- First home buyers
- Investors
- Upgraders
- Downsizers
- High loan-to-value borrowing is common here, so lenders mortgage insurance or the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is often relevant.
- Median household income is below the national figure, so serviceability rather than deposit is frequently the binding constraint.
- Plentiful comparable sales make valuations predictable, but also make a price above recent evidence easy for a valuer to test.
- Homes built before the 1980s may contain asbestos-containing materials, which inspections and some insurers consider.
- Properties near the Southern Expressway may be affected by traffic noise, which valuers sometimes note.
Housing stock in Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale compared
Aberfoyle Park
- Detached homes from the 1980s onward
- Separate houses numbered 3,930 at the 2021 Census, 94.3 per cent of occupied homes, built after the suburb was proclaimed in 1980.
- Split-level and two-storey houses
- Common on the sloping streets, where the fall of the land favours stepped designs and terraced gardens.
- Townhouses and semi-detached dwellings
- Only 228 were counted at the 2021 Census, and no flats or apartments were recorded at all.
Morphett Vale
- Detached houses from the 1960s to 1980s
- Separate houses numbered 8,406 at the 2021 Census, 84.9 per cent of occupied homes, mostly single-storey on regular allotments.
- Townhouses and semi-detached dwellings
- At 1,459 dwellings, or 14.7 per cent of occupied homes, attached housing is a substantial part of this market.
- Three-bedroom family homes
- The most common size by a wide margin at 6,404 dwellings counted at the 2021 Census.
- Older town buildings
- A small number of nineteenth and early twentieth century properties survive from the town established from 1840.
Official sale price and rent figures for Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale
Only figures published free of charge by a government agency are shown. Where none is published the space is left empty rather than filled with an estimate. Each guide charts the full series.
Aberfoyle Park
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Aberfoyle Park, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.
Morphett Vale
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Morphett Vale, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.
Transport, schools and amenities in Aberfoyle Park and Morphett Vale
Aberfoyle Park
Transport
- Routes G20, G21 and G22X (bus)
- Routes 320, 600 and 601 (bus)
- Route 737 (bus)
- Southern Expressway (road)
Amenities
- Thalassa Park
- Aberfoyle Park local shops
- Marion Centre
Morphett Vale
Transport
- Southern Expressway (road)
- Main South Road (road)
- Panalatinga Road (road)
- Adelaide Metro buses (bus)
- Noarlunga Centre Station (train)
Amenities
- Morphett Vale district shops
- Wilfred Taylor Reserve
School listings show name, level and sector only. Enrolment areas change, so confirm eligibility for a specific address with the school or the South Australia education department.
Compare Aberfoyle Park or Morphett Vale with another suburb
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