Giralang, ACT 2617Home loan and property guide

Giralang location and character

Giralang lies in the northern part of Belconnen, one of the five ACT town centres alongside Woden, Tuggeranong, Weston Creek and Gungahlin, approximately nine kilometres north of the Canberra city centre.

The suburb's name was gazetted on 15 January 1974, the same day as neighbouring Kaleen. Giralang is named after the word in the language of the Wiradhuri Aboriginal tribe of the Central West of New South Wales meaning star.

At 1,196 occupied dwellings it is among the smaller suburbs in these Canberra guides, and its housing has seen very little change since the mid 1970s.

Transport and amenity in Giralang

Canberra's light rail does not serve Belconnen. Light rail Stage 1 commenced services on 20 April 2019 between Gungahlin and the city, and Stage 2A from Civic to Commonwealth Park is under construction and expected to be operational in early 2028. Transport Canberra buses serve Giralang and connect it to the Belconnen Town Centre and the city.

Road access is by Baldwin Drive and Ginninderra Drive, with the Barton Highway nearby.

The Belconnen Town Centre provides the district's main shopping and services. This guide does not describe school catchments, which the ACT Education Directorate can confirm.

Housing stock in Giralang

Giralang is built almost entirely of detached family houses from the mid 1970s, with minimal attached stock and almost no apartments.

At the 2021 Census, 1,115 of the 1,196 occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 63 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and only 11 were flats or apartments, so houses made up 93.2 per cent of occupied homes against 72.3 per cent nationally. Three-bedroom homes numbered 567 and four-bedroom homes 426, with 125 having five or more and only 44 with two bedrooms.

The Census also recorded 61 unoccupied private dwellings out of 1,253 on Census night, a low share. Inspections on 1970s Canberra housing commonly consider roof and ceiling condition, original wiring and plumbing, insulation performance given the cold winters, and asbestos-containing materials, addressed further below.

Who lives and buys in Giralang

The 2021 Census counted 3,372 residents in Giralang, with a median age of 38, matching the national figure, and an average household size of 2.7 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Adults aged 35 to 44 were the largest group at 550, followed by 499 children aged 5 to 14, 476 adults aged 25 to 34 and 422 aged 65 to 74.

Ownership dominates and renting is uncommon. The Census recorded 481 dwellings owned with a mortgage, 448 owned outright and only 231 rented, so 40.6 per cent of households with a stated tenure held a mortgage, 37.8 per cent owned outright and just 19.5 per cent rented, against 35.0, 31.0 and 30.6 per cent nationally.

Median weekly household income was $2,447 against $1,746, median monthly mortgage repayments were $2,167 against $1,863 and median weekly rent was $460 against $375. For a buyer, this is a settled family market with limited turnover and a small rental pool.

Leasehold title and planning in Giralang

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, which in practice defines what can be built on it.

Varying that purpose clause requires permission from the Territory Planning Authority and attracts the Lease Variation Charge on the resulting uplift in value. Giralang has seen almost no such redevelopment, with only 63 townhouse dwellings and 11 flats, so density potential should not be assumed.

A further lease can be applied for at any time during the term, for an administrative fee rather than a payment for the land.

Buying in Giralang 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, from an inspection carried out not earlier than three months before the property was first advertised, building conveyancing inquiry documents, an energy efficiency rating statement, copies of all interests and encumbrances, an extract of the title, and the Crown lease and deposited 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 Giralang property

Detached houses on standard Crown leases are the most widely accepted security. The suburb is small at 1,196 occupied dwellings, so listings are limited in any period, though the consistency of the stock means a valuer has close comparisons when sales do occur.

Loose-fill asbestos insulation is the principal caution. The suburb was gazetted in 1974, squarely within the 1968 to 1978 period when the Canberra company D. Jansen and Co, later known as Mr Fluffy, blew loose-fill amphibole asbestos into the roof spaces of Canberra homes.

In 2015 the ACT Government released a list of 1,022 affected properties across the Territory, and the eradication scheme bought back and demolished affected houses from July 2015. Buyers should check the Affected Residential Premises Register for a specific address and read the asbestos information in the contract documents. With renting at only 19.5 per cent, the tenant pool is small, which is relevant to an investor.

Lending considerations for Giralang

• The 1974 gazettal falls squarely within the loose-fill asbestos installation period.
• At 1,196 occupied dwellings, listings are limited in any period.
• Only 19.5 per cent of households rented, so the tenant pool is small for investors.
• Density potential should not be assumed given how little redevelopment has occurred.
• Attached stock is very scarce, so a townhouse has thin local comparable evidence.

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.