Aranda vs BelconnenTwo Canberra suburbs compared for a home loan
Aranda (ACT 2614) is approximately 7 km north-west of the Canberra city centre, below Black Mountain. Belconnen (ACT 2617) is approximately 9 km north-west of Canberra's city centre. At the 2021 Census, Aranda had 2,605 residents with a median age of 42, and Belconnen had 8,502 residents with a median age of 30.
The most common occupied dwelling was separate houses in Aranda and flats and apartments in Belconnen. Flats and apartments made up 3% of occupied dwellings in Aranda and 75% in Belconnen, while 16% of Aranda households rented compared with 64% in Belconnen. 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.
ACT 2614 · Belconnen
Aranda
Aranda is an affluent southern Belconnen suburb gazetted in 1967, built of large houses where only 15.8 per cent of households rent.
Australian Capital Territory. Approximately 7 km north-west of the Canberra city centre, below Black Mountain.
Read the full Aranda guideACT 2617 · Belconnen district, north-west Canberra
Belconnen
A guide to buying in Belconnen, the lakeside town centre of north-west Canberra, covering apartments, Crown leases, unit titles and lending.
Australian Capital Territory (no local councils), Belconnen district. Approximately 9 km north-west of Canberra's city centre.
Read the full Belconnen guide
What buying in Aranda and Belconnen 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 Aranda and Belconnen.
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 Aranda to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.
Enter a price for Belconnen 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.
Aranda and Belconnen: 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 | Aranda | Belconnen |
|---|---|---|
| People and households | ||
| Residents | 2,605 | 8,502 |
| Median ageAustralia 38 | 42 | 30 |
| Average household sizeAustralia 2.5 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| Median household income, weeklyAustralia $1,746 | $3,161 | $1,776 |
| Housing costs at the 2021 Census | ||
| Median rent, weeklyAustralia $375 | $530 | $430 |
| Median mortgage repayment, monthlyAustralia $1,863 | $2,500 | $1,517 |
| Who owns and who rents | ||
| Households rentingAustralia 31% | 16% | 64% |
| Owned with a mortgageAustralia 35% | 39% | 21% |
| Owned outrightAustralia 31% | 43% | 11% |
| Types of home | ||
| Separate housesAustralia 72% | 88% | 0% |
| Townhouses, terraces and semi-detachedAustralia 13% | 10% | 25% |
| Flats and apartmentsAustralia 14% | 3% | 75% |
| Homes with two bedrooms or fewer | 7% | 81% |
| Homes with four bedrooms or more | 58% | 1% |
| Dwellings unoccupied on Census night | 5% | 10% |
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 Aranda and Belconnen
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.
Aranda
- Upgraders
- Downsizers
- At 897 occupied dwellings, sales evidence is thin for valuation.
- Only 15.8 per cent of households rented, so the tenant pool is very small.
- Late 1960s housing overlaps the loose-fill asbestos installation period.
- Properties backing onto reserve land may carry bushfire considerations.
- Reserve land adjoining the suburb means housing supply is effectively fixed.
Belconnen
- First home buyers
- Investors
- Downsizers
- Some lenders cap their exposure within a single tower or reduce the maximum loan-to-value ratio where there is a large supply of new apartments.
- Studio and small one-bedroom apartments may fall below the minimum internal floor area accepted by certain lenders and mortgage insurers.
- Off-the-plan apartments are valued close to settlement, and any shortfall against the contract price must be met from the buyer's own funds.
- Owners corporation levies in buildings with lifts and shared facilities are counted in serviceability assessments, and records may disclose defect rectification works.
- Land is held under a Crown lease, which is the standard tenure in the Territory and is accepted by lenders in the ordinary course.
Housing stock in Aranda and Belconnen compared
Aranda
- Large detached family houses
- Separate houses numbered 785 at the 2021 Census, 87.5 per cent of occupied homes.
- Four and five bedroom homes
- At the 2021 Census, 417 dwellings had four bedrooms and 100 had five or more.
- Limited attached stock
- Only 91 townhouse dwellings and 23 flats were counted at the 2021 Census.
Belconnen
- Apartments in towers and mid-rise buildings
- One-bedroom and two-bedroom units near the lake and shopping precinct, many first sold off the plan.
- Older walk-up apartment blocks
- Smaller unit-titled buildings with lower levies but ageing common property that warrants a review of records.
- Townhouse and courtyard complexes
- Medium-density homes from the district's original development, usually with larger floor areas and private outdoor space.
Official sale price and rent figures for Aranda and Belconnen
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.
Aranda
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Aranda, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.
Belconnen
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Belconnen, 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 Aranda and Belconnen
Aranda
Transport
- Transport Canberra buses (bus)
- Belconnen Way (road)
- Caswell Drive (road)
Amenities
- Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve
- Aranda shops
- Belconnen Town Centre
Belconnen
Transport
- Cohen Street Bus Station (bus)
- R8 Rapid (bus)
- Belconnen Way (road)
- Ginninderra Drive (road)
Schools and campuses
- UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra (secondary, government)
- University of Canberra (tertiary, university)
- Radford College (combined, independent)
- Canberra High School (secondary, government)
- Macquarie Primary School (primary, government)
Amenities
- Westfield Belconnen
- Lake Ginninderra
- John Knight Memorial Park
- Belconnen Arts Centre
- North Canberra Hospital (Bruce)
- University of Canberra Hospital (Bruce)
School listings show name, level and sector only. Enrolment areas change, so confirm eligibility for a specific address with the school or the ACT education department.
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Request a free assessment: Aranda or Belconnen
An accredited mortgage broker can check your borrowing power against prices in Aranda and Belconnen, and explain how lenders treat the homes you are considering. The assessment is free of charge and carries no obligation.