Brabham vs MidlandTwo Perth suburbs compared for a home loan
Brabham (WA 6055) is approximately 21 km north-east of the Perth CBD, south of Henley Brook. Midland (WA 6056) is approximately 16 km north-east of the Perth CBD, where Great Eastern Highway and Great Northern Highway meet. At the 2021 Census, Brabham had 8,665 residents with a median age of 29, and Midland had 6,335 residents with a median age of 39.
The most common occupied dwelling was separate houses in Brabham and townhouses and terraces in Midland. Flats and apartments made up 0% of occupied dwellings in Brabham and 17% in Midland, while 12% of Brabham households rented compared with 63% in Midland. 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.
WA 6055 · North-eastern growth corridor of Perth
Brabham
Brabham is a City of Swan suburb gazetted in 2011 on the former Caversham Airfield, where 83.4 per cent of households hold a mortgage and only 4.2 per cent own outright.
City of Swan. Approximately 21 km north-east of the Perth CBD, south of Henley Brook.
Read the full Brabham guideWA 6056 · Eastern metropolitan Perth
Midland
Midland is the strategic centre of Perth's east, with a rail terminus rebuilt in 2026, a public hospital, heritage workshops and mostly rented townhouses.
City of Swan. Approximately 16 km north-east of the Perth CBD, where Great Eastern Highway and Great Northern Highway meet.
Read the full Midland guide
What buying in Brabham and Midland 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 Brabham and Midland.
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 Brabham to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.
Enter a price for Midland 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.
Brabham and Midland: 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 | Brabham | Midland |
|---|---|---|
| People and households | ||
| Residents | 8,665 | 6,335 |
| Median ageAustralia 38 | 29 | 39 |
| Average household sizeAustralia 2.5 | 3.0 | 1.9 |
| Median household income, weeklyAustralia $1,746 | $2,155 | $1,138 |
| Housing costs at the 2021 Census | ||
| Median rent, weeklyAustralia $375 | $370 | $295 |
| Median mortgage repayment, monthlyAustralia $1,863 | $1,928 | $1,350 |
| Who owns and who rents | ||
| Households rentingAustralia 31% | 12% | 63% |
| Owned with a mortgageAustralia 35% | 83% | 19% |
| Owned outrightAustralia 31% | 4% | 17% |
| Types of home | ||
| Separate housesAustralia 72% | 97% | 32% |
| Townhouses, terraces and semi-detachedAustralia 13% | 2% | 51% |
| Flats and apartmentsAustralia 14% | 0% | 17% |
| Homes with two bedrooms or fewer | 3% | 42% |
| Homes with four bedrooms or more | 52% | 7% |
| Dwellings unoccupied on Census night | 4% | 14% |
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 Brabham and Midland
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.
Brabham
- First home buyers
- Upgraders
- Investors
- Estate covenants differ between developers across the suburb and run with the land.
- A house and land package is usually two contracts, for the land and for the build.
- A construction loan draws down in stages against an as-if-complete valuation.
- Builder contract variations after loan approval can leave a funding gap.
- Some lenders apply postcode-based limits to high loan-to-value lending in growth corridors.
Midland
- Investors
- First home buyers
- Downsizers
- Some lenders apply minimum internal floor areas and limit exposure to a single building or to postcodes with many units, which can reduce the maximum loan.
- Strata levies are included in serviceability assessments, and scheme insurance, reserve funds and planned works affect valuation.
- Lenders usually count only part of expected rent when assessing an investor's capacity, which matters in a suburb where most households rent.
- Flood prone and aircraft noise special control areas apply to parts of Midland, so insurance quotes are worth obtaining before an offer becomes unconditional.
- Heritage-listed places and converted workshop buildings may be valued more conservatively because alterations require approval.
- Western Australian contracts have no mandatory cooling-off period, so finance, inspection and strata disclosure matters need attention before signing.
Housing stock in Brabham and Midland compared
Brabham
- Estate housing from 2011 onward
- Separate houses numbered 2,780 at the 2021 Census, 97.4 per cent of occupied homes.
- Four bedroom family homes
- At the 2021 Census, 1,404 dwellings had four bedrooms against 1,269 with three.
- Very limited attached stock
- Only 63 semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and 11 flats were counted at the 2021 Census.
Midland
- Strata villas and townhouses
- Semi-detached, terrace and townhouse dwellings numbered 1,468 of the 2,900 occupied homes counted at the 2021 Census.
- Older detached houses
- Separate houses in the streets around the town centre, some on lots with split density codings and some subject to heritage listing.
- Apartments and mixed-use buildings
- Flats and apartments numbered 487 at the 2021 Census, including newer buildings above shops in the town centre and workshops precinct.
- Medium-density redevelopment housing
- Townhouses and compact homes delivered through the DevelopmentWA program, such as the Woodbridge Lakes neighbourhood.
Official sale price and rent figures for Brabham and Midland
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.
Brabham
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Brabham, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.
Midland
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Midland, 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 Brabham and Midland
Brabham
Transport
- Whiteman Park Station (train)
- Ellenbrook Station (train)
- Transperth buses (bus)
- Tonkin Highway (road)
Amenities
- Everglades Avenue town centre
- Whiteman Park
- Brabham community facilities
Midland
Transport
- Midland Station (train)
- Midland Station bus interchange (bus)
- Great Eastern Highway (road)
- Great Northern Highway (road)
Schools and campuses
- Moorditj Noongar Community College (primary, government)
- Governor Stirling Senior High School (secondary, government)
- La Salle College (secondary, catholic)
- St Brigid's Primary School (primary, catholic)
- Curtin University, Midland Campus (tertiary, university)
- North Metropolitan TAFE, Midland Campus (tertiary, tafe)
Amenities
- St John of God Midland Public Hospital
- Midland Gate Shopping Centre
- Midland Railway Workshops and Railway Square
- Swan Active Midland
- Midland Library
School listings show name, level and sector only. Enrolment areas change, so confirm eligibility for a specific address with the school or the Western Australia education department.
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