Crace, ACT 2911Home loan and property guide

Crace location and character

Crace lies in the southern part of Gungahlin, the fourth ACT town. Planning for the district commenced in 1987 and construction began from October 1991, when the district was launched with just 389 residents. Its population grew from 23,466 in 2001 to 87,682 in 2021.

The suburb is named after Edward Kendall Crace, an original settler in the Gungahlin area. The connection runs deeper than the suburb: Gungahlin itself takes its name from the homestead of the Crace family, who owned the land from 1877 until it was resumed by the Commonwealth with the establishment of the Federal Capital Territory.

Crace is among the more recently developed Gungahlin suburbs, and its low vacancy rate and high mortgage share both reflect that.

Transport and amenity in Crace

Crace is not on the light rail line. Light rail Stage 1 commenced services on 20 April 2019, running 12 kilometres from Gungahlin to the city with 14 stops, and Transport Canberra buses connect Crace to the corridor and to the Gungahlin Town Centre.

Road access is by Gungahlin Drive and the Barton Highway, which give connections south to the city and Belconnen. At approximately eight kilometres from the centre, road journeys are moderate.

The Gungahlin Town Centre, 10 kilometres north of Canberra City, provides the district's main shopping and services, and Crace has its own local centre. This guide does not describe school catchments, which the ACT Education Directorate can confirm.

Housing stock in Crace

Crace is built of recent estate housing, predominantly detached and specified for families, with a townhouse and apartment component around its local centre.

At the 2021 Census, 1,172 of the 1,686 occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 261 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and 250 were flats or apartments, so houses made up 69.5 per cent of occupied homes against 72.3 per cent nationally. Four-bedroom homes numbered 651, well ahead of 456 three-bedroom, with 146 having five or more.

The Census also recorded only 66 unoccupied private dwellings out of 1,753 on Census night, under 4 per cent, one of the lowest vacancy shares in these guides. Because the suburb is recent, its housing postdates the period when loose-fill asbestos insulation was installed in Canberra. Inspections focus instead on site works, drainage, defect rectification within warranty periods and the approval status of anything added after handover.

Who lives and buys in Crace

The 2021 Census counted 4,800 residents in Crace, with a median age of 34 against 38 for Australia and an average household size of 2.8 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Adults aged 35 to 44 were the largest group at 1,057, followed by 863 aged 25 to 34, 755 children aged 5 to 14 and 438 aged under five.

Mortgaged ownership dominates. The Census recorded 806 dwellings owned with a mortgage, 570 rented and only 225 owned outright, so 48.3 per cent of households with a stated tenure held a mortgage, 34.2 per cent rented and just 13.5 per cent owned outright, against 35.0, 30.6 and 31.0 per cent nationally.

Median weekly household income was $2,811 against $1,746, median monthly mortgage repayments were $2,400 against $1,863 and median weekly rent was $460 against $375. For a buyer, this is a comparatively affluent young family market where a recently built four-bedroom house is the standard product.

Leasehold title and estate covenants in Crace

Land in the ACT is not freehold. It is granted under a Crown lease, and most residential Crown leases run for 99 years, with a buyer taking on the remaining term. Every Crown lease contains a purpose clause specifying the permitted use of the land.

Varying that purpose clause requires permission from the Territory Planning Authority and attracts the Lease Variation Charge on the resulting uplift in value.

In a recent estate, design guidelines are the more immediate consideration. Land released through an estate commonly carries guidelines governing facade materials, roof pitch, fencing, driveway finish and the time within which a dwelling must be completed. Those obligations bind a later buyer, not only the original purchaser, so the documents attaching to a particular block are worth obtaining and reading before committing.

Buying in Crace under ACT contract law

Under the Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003, a seller must attach a required set of documents to the contract before the property is advertised. Those include building and compliance inspection reports, building conveyancing inquiry documents, an energy efficiency rating statement, copies of all interests and encumbrances, an extract of the title, and the Crown lease with either the deposited plan or, for a unit, the units plan.

A buyer is entitled to a cooling-off period of five business days, ending at 5pm on the fifth working day after it begins, and forfeits 0.25 per cent of the purchase price to withdraw during that period.

Home loan considerations for Crace property

Loose-fill asbestos insulation does not arise here, because the suburb was built long after the 1968 to 1978 installation period. Detached houses on standard Crown leases are the most widely accepted security, and the consistency of recent estate stock gives a valuer close comparable evidence.

Where a buyer is building rather than buying established, a construction loan applies. It is drawn down in stages against the builder's progress claims, with the lender valuing the property on an as-if-complete basis from the plans and specifications, and interest usually charged only on the amount drawn. Variations agreed with the builder after loan approval can leave a funding gap the buyer must cover.

With only 13.5 per cent of households owning outright and 48.3 per cent holding a mortgage, this is a market of recent purchasers, so lenders mortgage insurance or a place in the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is frequently part of the funding. Median monthly repayments of $2,400 mean serviceability commonly binds before deposit.

Lending considerations for Crace

• Estate design guidelines bind later buyers, not only the original purchaser.
• A construction loan draws down in stages against an as-if-complete valuation.
• Builder contract variations after loan approval can leave a funding gap.
• Median monthly mortgage repayments of $2,400 mean serviceability commonly binds.
• The suburb postdates the loose-fill asbestos installation period entirely.

Lender policy differs between institutions and changes over time. The guide to Australian lenders explains how credit policy varies, and the home loan guide sets out the main loan structures.