Madora Bay vs RockinghamTwo suburbs compared for a home loan
Madora Bay (WA 6210) is approximately 66 km south of the Perth CBD, on the coast north of Mandurah. Rockingham (WA 6168) is approximately 40 km south-west of the Perth CBD, on Cockburn Sound. At the 2021 Census, Madora Bay had 3,830 residents with a median age of 36, and Rockingham had 15,312 residents with a median age of 49.
In both suburbs the most common occupied dwelling was separate houses. Flats and apartments made up 0% of occupied dwellings in Madora Bay and 14% in Rockingham, while 16% of Madora Bay households rented compared with 38% in Rockingham. 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 6210 · Peel region
Madora Bay
Madora Bay is a coastal Mandurah suburb of large modern homes where 59 per cent of households carry a mortgage and no apartments exist.
City of Mandurah. Approximately 66 km south of the Perth CBD, on the coast north of Mandurah.
Read the full Madora Bay guideWA 6168 · Perth's southern coastal corridor
Rockingham
Rockingham is a coastal strategic centre south of Perth with older houses, villas and foreshore apartments, an older population and many renters.
City of Rockingham. Approximately 40 km south-west of the Perth CBD, on Cockburn Sound.
Read the full Rockingham guide
What buying in Madora Bay and Rockingham 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 Madora Bay and Rockingham.
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 Madora Bay to see the repayment, transfer duty and upfront cash.
Enter a price for Rockingham 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.
Madora Bay and Rockingham: 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 | Madora Bay | Rockingham |
|---|---|---|
| People and households | ||
| Residents | 3,830 | 15,312 |
| Median ageAustralia 38 | 36 | 49 |
| Average household sizeAustralia 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.0 |
| Median household income, weeklyAustralia $1,746 | $2,290 | $1,169 |
| Housing costs at the 2021 Census | ||
| Median rent, weeklyAustralia $375 | $370 | $300 |
| Median mortgage repayment, monthlyAustralia $1,863 | $2,004 | $1,517 |
| Who owns and who rents | ||
| Households rentingAustralia 31% | 16% | 38% |
| Owned with a mortgageAustralia 35% | 59% | 27% |
| Owned outrightAustralia 31% | 24% | 34% |
| Types of home | ||
| Separate housesAustralia 72% | 99% | 66% |
| Townhouses, terraces and semi-detachedAustralia 13% | 1% | 20% |
| Flats and apartmentsAustralia 14% | 0% | 14% |
| Homes with two bedrooms or fewer | 3% | 27% |
| Homes with four bedrooms or more | 72% | 30% |
| Dwellings unoccupied on Census night | 13% | 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 Madora Bay and Rockingham
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.
Madora Bay
- Upgraders
- First home buyers
- Investors
- Outright ownership of 24.5 per cent with 59.1 per cent mortgaged makes budgets repayment sensitive.
- No flats and only eight townhouses were recorded, so low-maintenance housing is unavailable.
- Building insurance for a coastal property can differ in price and terms, and lenders require cover at settlement.
- Some lenders apply different maximum loan-to-value ratios to regional locations than to metropolitan Perth.
- Census figures date from 2021, before Lakelands station opened in June 2023.
Rockingham
- Downsizers
- Investors
- First home buyers
- Some lenders restrict serviced or short-stay apartments and set minimum internal floor areas, which can narrow the choice of lender for foreshore units.
- Strata levies, reserve fund balances and planned remedial works in coastal buildings affect both valuation and borrowing capacity assessments.
- Borrowers close to retirement are usually asked for an exit strategy, and the loan term offered may be shorter than the standard term.
- Downsizers buying before selling may need bridging finance or an offer made subject to the sale of their existing home.
- Property within mapped coastal hazard or bush fire prone areas may cost more to insure, and lenders require insurance at settlement.
Housing stock in Madora Bay and Rockingham compared
Madora Bay
- Modern detached family homes
- Separate houses numbered 1,281 at the 2021 Census, 98.8 per cent of occupied homes, with no flats at all.
- Four and five bedroom homes
- At the 2021 Census, 821 dwellings had four bedrooms and 111 had five or more, against only 37 with two.
- Coastal outlook properties
- Homes nearer the shore carry outlook but also coastal hazard policy and marine maintenance considerations.
Rockingham
- Older single-storey houses
- Separate houses on traditional lots made up 4,526 of the occupied homes counted at the 2021 Census, in widely varying condition.
- Villas, duplexes and townhouses
- The 2021 Census counted 1,390 semi-detached or townhouse dwellings, typically strata titled and a smaller alternative to a detached house.
- Foreshore apartments
- Flats and apartments numbered 977 at the 2021 Census, concentrated near the beach, some with short-stay use in the building.
Official sale price and rent figures for Madora Bay and Rockingham
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.
Madora Bay
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Madora Bay, so none is shown. A broker can supply recent comparable sales for a specific property as part of a free assessment.
Rockingham
No government agency publishes a free median sale price or rent series for Rockingham, 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 Madora Bay and Rockingham
Madora Bay
Transport
- Lakelands Station (train)
- Mandurah Station (train)
- Transperth buses (bus)
- Mandurah Road (road)
Amenities
- Madora Bay beach
- Madora Bay local shops
- Mandurah city centre
Rockingham
Transport
- Rockingham Station (train)
- Route 555 (bus)
- Patterson Road and Ennis Avenue (road)
- Rockingham Beach Road (road)
Schools and campuses
- Rockingham Senior High School (secondary, government)
- Rockingham Beach Primary School (primary, government)
- Bungaree Primary School (primary, government)
- Kolbe Catholic College (secondary, catholic)
- Star of the Sea Primary School (primary, catholic)
- South Metropolitan TAFE, Rockingham campus (tertiary, tafe)
Amenities
- Rockingham Beach Foreshore
- Rockingham General Hospital (Cooloongup)
- Rockingham Centre
- Lake Richmond
- Churchill Park and Bell Park
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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