Griffith, ACT 2603Home loan and property guide

Griffith location and character

Griffith lies in South Canberra, also called the Inner South, one of the oldest parts of Canberra and built in part in accordance with Walter Burley Griffin's designs.

In 1928, southern Blandfordia, which had been named after the Christmas Bell, was renamed Griffith. The suburb is named after Sir Samuel Griffith, who was chosen in 1903 as the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and retained the position until his retirement in 1919.

The Manuka shops are the commercial focus, providing retail, dining and the Manuka swimming pool, and they draw custom from well beyond the suburb. Griffith accordingly has a more mixed and busier character than the purely residential parts of the inner south.

Transport and amenity in Griffith

Canberra's light rail does not serve South Canberra, so public transport is the Transport Canberra bus network, with services to the city, the Parliamentary Triangle and the Woden interchange.

Road access is direct, with Canberra Avenue running south-east and the Parliamentary Triangle immediately west. At approximately three kilometres from the centre, journeys are short and cycling is practical.

Manuka provides shopping, dining and the Manuka swimming pool, and Kingston lies immediately east. This guide does not describe school catchments, which the ACT Education Directorate can confirm.

Housing stock in Griffith

Griffith divides between established houses on the residential streets and substantial apartment development concentrated around Manuka, which has shifted the balance of the suburb decisively toward attached stock.

At the 2021 Census, 1,238 of the 2,319 occupied private dwellings were flats or apartments, 826 were separate houses and 249 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings, so apartments made up 53.4 per cent of occupied homes against 14.2 per cent nationally, while separate houses accounted for 35.6 per cent against 72.3 per cent. Two-bedroom dwellings numbered 955, three-bedroom 437, four-bedroom 406 and one-bedroom 360.

The Census also recorded 256 unoccupied private dwellings out of 2,574 on Census night, close to 10 per cent. Due diligence divides between strata work for the apartments and, for the houses, roof and ceiling condition, original services, insulation performance and asbestos-containing materials.

Who lives and buys in Griffith

The 2021 Census counted 5,328 residents in Griffith, with a median age of 38, matching the national figure, and an average household size of 2.1 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Adults aged 25 to 34 were the largest group at 1,095, followed by 720 aged 45 to 54 and 708 aged 35 to 44.

Renting leads. The Census recorded 939 rented dwellings, 747 owned with a mortgage and 580 owned outright, so 40.7 per cent of households with a stated tenure rented, 32.4 per cent held a mortgage and 25.1 per cent owned outright, against 30.6, 35.0 and 31.0 per cent nationally.

Median weekly household income was $2,542 against $1,746, median monthly mortgage repayments were $2,118 against $1,863 and median weekly rent was $462 against $375. For a buyer, this is an inner south market where an apartment near Manuka is the accessible product and an established house is the premium one.

Leasehold title and planning in Griffith

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, most commonly to permit higher density, requires permission from the Territory Planning Authority and attracts the Lease Variation Charge on the resulting uplift in value. The volume of apartment development around Manuka shows how that mechanism has operated here.

Parts of the inner south fall within urban conservation areas identified in the heritage documentation of 1988, which can constrain demolition and external alterations. A buyer should establish what applies to a specific address rather than generalising from nearby development.

Buying in Griffith 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.

For an apartment, the owners corporation records, levies, insurance, minutes and any proposed or recent works deserve close review alongside those documents. 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 Griffith property

For the apartment stock, ordinary strata policies apply and bite hard. Some lenders set minimum internal floor areas, which the 360 one-bedroom dwellings can fall below, apply lower maximum loan-to-value ratios to small units, or limit exposure to a single development. Body corporate levies are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power, and special levies for defect rectification can arise in newer buildings.

With renting at 40.7 per cent, investment lending is common here and is assessed on different terms, with most lenders discounting rental income when calculating serviceability. A dwelling marketed as short-stay or serviced accommodation is treated as specialised security with a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio.

Loose-fill asbestos insulation was installed in Canberra roof spaces between 1968 and 1978, and in 2015 the ACT Government released a list of 1,022 affected properties across the Territory. Buyers of an older house should check the Affected Residential Premises Register for a specific address. Leasehold title itself is accepted by lenders and is the normal position across the Territory.

Lending considerations for Griffith

• One-bedroom dwellings can fall below lenders' minimum internal floor areas.
• Body corporate levies are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power.
• A short-stay or serviced apartment is specialised security with a lower loan-to-value cap.
• Parts of the inner south fall within urban conservation areas that constrain alterations.
• Older houses warrant a check of the loose-fill asbestos register.

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.