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Suburb comparison

Hectorville vs NorwoodTwo Adelaide suburbs compared for a home loan

Hectorville (SA 5073) is approximately 8 km east of the Adelaide CBD, beside Fourth Creek. Norwood (SA 5067) is approximately 4 km east of the Adelaide CBD. At the 2021 Census, Hectorville had 4,241 residents with a median age of 38, and Norwood had 6,354 residents with a median age of 40.

The most common occupied dwelling was separate houses in Hectorville and townhouses and terraces in Norwood. Flats and apartments made up 24% of occupied dwellings in Hectorville and 15% in Norwood, while 38% of Hectorville households rented compared with 45% in Norwood. 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.

What buying in Hectorville and Norwood 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 Hectorville and Norwood.

Your prices and deposit

Enter the price you are seeing in each suburb. BorrowWise does not quote prices, so the comparison uses yours.

Hectorville

Enter a price for Hectorville to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.

Norwood
$11,999
a month over 30 years
Loan amount
$1,980,000
Loan to value ratio
95.2%
Transfer duty, South Australia
$108,230
Lenders mortgage insurance
Deposit under 5%
Upfront cash needed
$211,230

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.

Hectorville and Norwood: 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.

2021 Census profile of Hectorville and Norwood
MeasureHectorvilleNorwood
People and households
Residents4,2416,354
Median ageAustralia 383840
Average household sizeAustralia 2.52.32.0
Median household income, weeklyAustralia $1,746$1,394$1,752
Housing costs at the 2021 Census
Median rent, weeklyAustralia $375$300$390
Median mortgage repayment, monthlyAustralia $1,863$1,700$2,000
Who owns and who rents
Households rentingAustralia 31%38%45%
Owned with a mortgageAustralia 35%29%21%
Owned outrightAustralia 31%32%31%
Types of home
Separate housesAustralia 72%65%35%
Townhouses, terraces and semi-detachedAustralia 13%11%50%
Flats and apartmentsAustralia 14%24%15%
Homes with two bedrooms or fewer28%50%
Homes with four bedrooms or more15%10%
Dwellings unoccupied on Census night8%11%

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 Hectorville and Norwood

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.

Hectorville

  • First home buyers
  • Investors
  • Downsizers
  • A quarter of dwellings are flats, so minimum floor area rules and single-building exposure limits matter here.
  • Older low-rise strata groups can carry modest sinking funds, making special levies a practical risk.
  • Corporation levies are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power.
  • Renting is the largest tenure, so investment lending is common and assessed on different terms.
  • The suburb is small, with 1,803 occupied dwellings, so listings in any period are limited.

Norwood

  • Upgraders
  • Investors
  • Downsizers
  • First home buyers
  • Auction purchases carry no cooling-off period or finance condition in South Australia, so pre-approval and inspections need to be completed before bidding.
  • Valuations of character homes can vary because renovation quality, allotment size and parking differ widely between otherwise similar properties.
  • Heritage listing or the Historic Area Overlay can limit demolition and alterations, which valuers and lenders take into account for renovation lending.
  • Older strata units may have low sinking fund balances, and levies are counted in serviceability assessments.
  • Apartments above commercial premises and very small units may attract lower maximum loan-to-value ratios with some lenders.

Housing stock in Hectorville and Norwood compared

Hectorville

Detached houses
Separate houses numbered 1,163 at the 2021 Census, 64.5 per cent of occupied homes, below the national 72.3 per cent.
Flats and apartments
At 433 dwellings, or 24.0 per cent of occupied homes, the apartment share is well above the national 14.2 per cent.
Townhouses and semi-detached dwellings
The 202 attached dwellings counted at the 2021 Census are largely infill on subdivided allotments.

Norwood

Townhouses, maisonettes and row dwellings
The largest category, at 1,465 of the occupied dwellings counted at the 2021 Census, spanning historic row cottages and modern infill.
Character cottages and villas
Nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century stone and brick houses, many within the Historic Area Overlay.
Home units and apartments
Mid-century strata units in small groups and newer apartments on and near The Parade.

Official sale price and rent figures for Hectorville and Norwood

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.

Hectorville

No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Hectorville, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.

Norwood

Median house price, 2025 Q1
$2,080,000
Median weekly rent, houses (all bedrooms), 2024 Q4
$668
Median weekly rent, 2 bedroom flat/unit, 2024 Q4
$575

Source: Office of the Valuer-General, Government of South Australia (published by the Department for Housing and Urban Development on Data SA); SA Housing Trust (SA Housing Authority), from Consumer and Business Services rental bond data.

Transport, schools and amenities in Hectorville and Norwood

Hectorville

Transport

  • Adelaide Metro buses (bus)
  • O-Bahn busway (bus)
  • Montacute Road (road)
  • Glynburn Road (road)

Schools and campuses

  • East Torrens Primary School (primary, government)
  • St Joseph's School, Hectorville (primary, catholic)

Amenities

  • Hectorville local shops
  • Fourth Creek corridor

Norwood

Transport

  • Adelaide Metro buses on The Parade (bus)
  • The Parade (road)
  • Portrush Road (road)
  • Fullarton Road (road)

Schools and campuses

  • Norwood Primary School (primary, government)
  • St Joseph's Memorial School (primary, catholic)

Amenities

  • The Parade
  • Norwood Library
  • Norwood Town Hall
  • Norwood Swimming Centre
  • Norwood Oval

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.

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