Kensington vs Victoria ParkTwo Perth suburbs compared for a home loan
Kensington (WA 6151) is approximately 3 km south-east of the Perth CBD, between Canning Highway and Kent Street. Victoria Park (WA 6100) is approximately 4 km south-east of the Perth CBD, across the Causeway. At the 2021 Census, Kensington had 4,627 residents with a median age of 38, and Victoria Park had 9,334 residents with a median age of 35.
In both suburbs the most common occupied dwelling was separate houses. Flats and apartments made up 6% of occupied dwellings in Kensington and 25% in Victoria Park, while 28% of Kensington households rented compared with 53% in Victoria Park. 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 6151 · Southern river suburbs of Perth
Kensington
Kensington is an inner suburb split between two councils and named after a racecourse, where 41.0 per cent of households hold a mortgage and houses dominate.
City of South Perth. Approximately 3 km south-east of the Perth CBD, between Canning Highway and Kent Street.
Read the full Kensington guideWA 6100 · Inner south-east Perth
Victoria Park
Victoria Park is an inner south-east Perth suburb of character cottages, townhouses and apartments around Albany Highway, where most households rent.
Town of Victoria Park. Approximately 4 km south-east of the Perth CBD, across the Causeway.
Read the full Victoria Park guide
What buying in Kensington and Victoria Park 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 Kensington and Victoria Park.
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 Kensington to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.
Enter a price for Victoria Park 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.
Kensington and Victoria Park: 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 | Kensington | Victoria Park |
|---|---|---|
| People and households | ||
| Residents | 4,627 | 9,334 |
| Median ageAustralia 38 | 38 | 35 |
| Average household sizeAustralia 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
| Median household income, weeklyAustralia $1,746 | $2,496 | $1,828 |
| Housing costs at the 2021 Census | ||
| Median rent, weeklyAustralia $375 | $375 | $345 |
| Median mortgage repayment, monthlyAustralia $1,863 | $2,600 | $1,946 |
| Who owns and who rents | ||
| Households rentingAustralia 31% | 28% | 53% |
| Owned with a mortgageAustralia 35% | 41% | 25% |
| Owned outrightAustralia 31% | 29% | 20% |
| Types of home | ||
| Separate housesAustralia 72% | 82% | 38% |
| Townhouses, terraces and semi-detachedAustralia 13% | 12% | 37% |
| Flats and apartmentsAustralia 14% | 6% | 25% |
| Homes with two bedrooms or fewer | 23% | 41% |
| Homes with four bedrooms or more | 36% | 11% |
| Dwellings unoccupied on Census night | 9% | 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 Kensington and Victoria Park
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.
Kensington
- Upgraders
- First home buyers
- Investors
- Two councils apply within the one suburb, the City of South Perth and the Town of Victoria Park.
- Kensington shares postcode 6151 with South Perth, which differs in housing profile and price.
- At 1,632 occupied dwellings, comparable sales evidence is limited for valuation.
- Median monthly mortgage repayments of $2,600 mean serviceability binds before deposit.
- Canning Highway on the western boundary carries substantial traffic.
Victoria Park
- First home buyers
- Investors
- Upgraders
- Downsizers
- Older cottages may need restumping, rewiring or roofing work, and valuers take condition into account when assessing the property as security.
- Valuers generally assess a lot as it stands, so a premium paid for subdivision potential may need to be funded from the buyer's own savings.
- Building a rear dwelling usually requires a construction loan, drawn down in stages against a fixed-price building contract.
- Small one-bedroom and studio apartments may fall below the minimum internal floor area that some lenders and mortgage insurers require.
- Strata levies for villas, townhouses and apartments are counted in serviceability assessments and therefore reduce borrowing capacity.
- Western Australian contracts have no mandatory cooling-off period, so finance, building and timber pest conditions need to be written into the offer.
Housing stock in Kensington and Victoria Park compared
Kensington
- Detached houses
- Separate houses numbered 1,337 at the 2021 Census, 81.9 per cent of occupied homes.
- Three and four bedroom homes
- At the 2021 Census, 654 dwellings had three bedrooms and 480 had four.
- Townhouses
- The 203 semi-detached or townhouse dwellings counted at the 2021 Census, with 95 flats.
Victoria Park
- Character cottages and bungalows
- Pre-war brick and weatherboard homes, many restored and extended, within the Town's Residential Character Study Area.
- Villas and townhouses
- Infill on subdivided cottage lots; 1,536 semi-detached, terrace or townhouse dwellings were counted at the 2021 Census.
- Low to mid-rise apartments
- Older flats and newer mixed-use buildings near Albany Highway; 1,030 occupied flats or apartments were counted at the 2021 Census.
Official sale price and rent figures for Kensington and Victoria Park
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.
Kensington
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Kensington, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.
Victoria Park
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Victoria Park, 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 Kensington and Victoria Park
Kensington
Transport
- Transperth buses (bus)
- Canning Highway (road)
- Kent Street (road)
- Kwinana Freeway (road)
Amenities
- Kensington Bushland Reserve
- Kensington local shops
- Collier Park Golf Course
Victoria Park
Transport
- Victoria Park Station (train)
- Causeway Bus Station (bus)
- Albany Highway bus services (bus)
- The Causeway (road)
- Boorloo Bridge (road)
Schools and campuses
- Victoria Park Primary School (primary, government)
- Ursula Frayne Catholic College (combined, catholic)
- Regent College (primary, independent)
- Victoria Park Christian School (primary, independent)
Amenities
- Albany Highway retail and dining strip
- McCallum Park
- McCallum Park Active Area
- Raphael Park
- Town of Victoria Park Administration Centre
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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Request a free assessment: Kensington or Victoria Park
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