Forrestfield, WA 6058Home loan and property guide

Forrestfield location and character

Forrestfield lies 15 kilometres south-east of Perth at the base of the Darling Scarp, adjacent to the southern border of Perth Airport, within the City of Kalamunda. It sits below the hills suburbs of Kalamunda and Lesmurdie and east of Kenwick and the south-eastern corridor.

Settlement began in the late 1800s with minimal population until the early 1900s, and significant development followed in the post-war decades from the 1950s to the 1970s. The suburb's name is generally attributed either to John Forrest, Western Australia's first Premier, or to his brother Alexander, though local tradition attributes it to Charles Hale, who settled there in 1902 and planted crops amongst the native forest bushland.

A Forrestfield Progress Association was formed in 1921, and the name appeared on official plans by 1944. The residential area and the industrial precinct to the north developed side by side, and that pairing still defines the suburb.

Transport and the Airport line in Forrestfield

Forrestfield has no railway station of its own, which is a common point of confusion because the project that built the Airport line was originally announced as the Forrestfield-Airport Link. Construction commenced on 3 November 2016 and the line opened on 9 October 2022, with its terminus at High Wycombe station immediately to the north rather than in Forrestfield.

High Wycombe station provides about a 20 minute travel time to the Perth central business district and about two minutes to Perth Airport. Bus routes including 270, 271, 280, 281 and 293 connect Forrestfield to that station and the surrounding suburbs.

By road, Roe Highway runs along the eastern side of the area and Tonkin Highway lies to the west, so the freight network and the airport are both close. Hartfield Park Recreation Centre provides sporting facilities, and schools operate in the suburb. This guide does not describe school catchments, which the Department of Education can confirm.

Housing stock in Forrestfield

Forrestfield is built predominantly of detached houses from the 1950s onward, with later estates added on the southern and eastern sides and a modest townhouse component on subdivided lots. Apartment stock is negligible.

At the 2021 Census, 4,511 of the 5,096 occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 462 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and only 9 were flats or apartments, so houses made up 88.5 per cent of occupied homes against 72.3 per cent nationally. Three-bedroom homes numbered 2,276 and four-bedroom homes 1,999, with 282 having five or more bedrooms.

The Census also recorded 329 unoccupied private dwellings out of 5,421 on Census night. Inspections vary widely with age across this range. Post-war and 1960s housing raises roof condition, cracking associated with ground movement, original wiring and plumbing and asbestos-containing materials, while later estate housing raises site works, retaining and the approval status of additions.

Who lives and buys in Forrestfield

The 2021 Census counted 13,181 residents in Forrestfield, with a median age of 38, matching the national figure, and an average household size of 2.5 people, also matching. Adults aged 35 to 44 were the largest group at 1,942, followed by 1,856 aged 25 to 34, 1,644 children aged 5 to 14 and 1,638 residents aged 45 to 54.

Mortgaged ownership dominates. The Census recorded 2,317 dwellings owned with a mortgage, 1,409 owned outright and 1,131 rented, so 46.2 per cent of households with a stated tenure held a mortgage, 28.1 per cent owned outright and 22.6 per cent rented, against 35.0, 31.0 and 30.6 per cent nationally.

Median weekly household income was $1,614 against $1,746, median monthly mortgage repayments were $1,733 against $1,863 and median weekly rent was $350 against $375. For a buyer, this is a family-owner market where detached houses on conventional lots dominate and repayments sit below the national median.

Industry, planning and local factors in Forrestfield

The northern industrial area contains the 241 hectare Forrestfield Marshalling Yard, which opened between 1968 and 1973 and serves rail freight operations. Major tenants include Aurizon, SCT Logistics, Watco Australia and Gemco Rail, alongside the CBH Group's Metro Grains Centre completed in 1998, a BlueScope warehouse from 2005, and Kenworth DAF Trucks.

That precinct is the most important local factor for a buyer. Properties near the industrial and rail freight area differ in amenity from those on the southern and eastern residential streets, and a valuer commonly notes proximity to industry. Freight operations run outside business hours, so visiting a prospective property in the evening is worth the time.

The suburb also adjoins the southern border of Perth Airport. Perth Airport publishes information on flight paths and aircraft noise, and buyers concerned about it can check the position for a specific address. Development is otherwise controlled by the City of Kalamunda's local planning scheme together with the Residential Design Codes.

Buying in Forrestfield under Western Australian contract law

Established houses in Western Australia are normally sold by offer and acceptance. Consumer Protection WA explains that the signed form becomes a binding contract once the seller accepts, and that there is no mandatory cooling-off period, so conditions for finance approval and for building and timber pest inspections need to be written into the offer.

There is no mandatory seller disclosure statement in Western Australia. For houses of this age with additions, Consumer Protection WA suggests checking whether work done in the past ten years had council approval. Transfer duty is assessed by RevenueWA, and a first home buyer should confirm current eligibility and thresholds directly.

Home loan considerations for Forrestfield property

Detached houses on conventional lots are the most widely accepted security, and the volume of similar stock at 5,096 occupied dwellings supports valuation. The exception is proximity to the industrial and rail freight precinct, where some lenders and insurers treat adjoining or near-adjoining industrial land as a valuation or acceptability factor.

With mortgaged ownership at 46.2 per cent and median repayments of $1,733, this is a market of active borrowers where prices sit below the Perth premium suburbs. Lenders mortgage insurance or a place in the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is frequently part of the funding for first home buyers here.

Lending considerations for Forrestfield

• The 241 hectare marshalling yard and industrial precinct sits immediately north of the residential area.
• Some lenders and insurers treat adjoining industrial land as a valuation or acceptability factor.
• The Airport line terminus is at High Wycombe, not in Forrestfield, despite the project's original name.
• The suburb adjoins the southern border of Perth Airport, so flight paths are worth checking.
• Housing spans the 1950s to recent estates, so inspection priorities vary widely by street.

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.