Belfield’s streets were first sold as home sites after the First World War. When an early house on one of those blocks stops working for you, rebuilding can make more sense than moving.
Your land is the equity. The lender values the block plus the finished home under a fixed-price contract and pays the builder in stages as each one is inspected.
You pay interest only on what has been drawn, and you will usually need somewhere to live during the build, which is part of the borrowing test.
Belfield is house country: 66.8% of dwellings are freestanding, against 65.6% for NSW. Valuers have plenty of comparable house sales to lean on, which tends to make valuations predictable. Attached homes are a big part of Belfield, at 23.7% against 11.7% statewide. Older terraces can carry renovation upside that a lender values only once the work is done, which is a timing question.
Separate housesTownhouses and semisApartments
apartments NSW 21.7%
separate houses NSW 65.6%
terraces and semis NSW 11.7%
rented NSW 32.6%
with a mortgage NSW 32.5%
private dwellings
Source: ABS Census 2021, Suburbs and Localities (SAL10257).
Home equity calculator
For upgraders and investors, how much of your home could work as a deposit.
That usable equity could work as a deposit on an investment property or renovation, structured so your properties aren’t tied together unnecessarily.
Usable equity assumes lending to 80% of your home’s value against your current loan. Lender policy and serviceability decide the real figure.
Confirm your numbers.
Charles at Links Property Finance made buying our first home so much easier than we expected. As first home buyers, we had a lot of questions around borrowing capacity, our deposit and the different government schemes available to us. Charles explained everything clearly, compared different lenders and kept us updated throughout the whole process. He was always easy to reach and made sure we understood what was happening from pre approval right through to getting our home loan approved. We would definitely recommend Links Property Finance to anyone looking for a mortgage broker, especially first home buyers who want someone to guide them through the process.
Charles looked after us really well and his knowledge gave us the confidence to purchase our property. He wasn’t pushy and always ensured we felt comfortable with the repayments.
Charles went above and beyond to help us secure our home loan. He worked hard to find the best option for us and kept us updated throughout the whole process. His knowledge of the lending market was impressive and he made everything straightforward.
Tell Charles what is owed on the Belfield property, what the household earns and the kind of home you have in mind. You leave with a borrowing range, a draw-down plan and a short list of what to line up first. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
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Charles calls back within one business day. No documents needed yet.
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker.
Belfield has no railway station of its own, so buses link it to the rail network. Route 415, between Campsie and Chiswick, stops at the Belfield shops on Burwood Road and carries on to Strathfield and Burwood stations.
Route 450, between Strathfield and Hurstville, stops where Punchbowl Road meets Burwood Road, and Punchbowl Road itself forms the suburb’s northern edge. For a rebuild, that mostly shapes where you rent during construction, ideally close to school and those buses.
The order that keeps a rebuild moving.
If you own the Belfield block outright, or have paid down a fair share of the loan against it, that equity does the job a cash deposit does on a purchase.
The lender combines the land with the contract price, checks what the finished house should be worth, and sizes the facility from there.
Each progress claim should line up with a stage the lender recognises, such as the slab, the frame, lock-up and fixing. When the builder’s schedule and the lender’s stages read differently, payments stall while paperwork is reworked, so compare the two before either document is signed.
One. A first conversation. Around thirty minutes and no paperwork: what you owe on the Belfield property, what the household earns and the home you want to end up in. You finish the call knowing whether a rebuild looks achievable.
Some early Belfield cottages have sound bones and a layout that can be opened up or extended at the rear. Smaller, non-structural work can often be paid for from the equity in the home. See what your equity could fund.
Larger structural work behaves more like a build, with a contract, stages and inspections.
If a house needs new footings, wiring, plumbing and a new floor plan, a renovation can carry the cost of a build with fewer of its certainties.
A new home on a fixed-price contract tends to be easier for a valuer to assess at completion. Pricing both routes against your income is the honest way to choose.
Apartments are thin on the ground here, so a first purchase usually means a semi, a townhouse or a house.
Settle these before the builder’s contract is signed, because each one changes what the lender will fund.
Your existing property becomes the security. The lender reviews the land, the approved plans and a fixed-price contract from a licensed builder, estimates what the finished home will be worth and approves a construction facility, usually folding in any mortgage you still have.
If it was in the part of Belfield north of Punchbowl Road that sat in Strathfield Council’s area, it is now in Strathfield South, following a Geographical Names Board decision. Belfield today lies wholly within the City of Canterbury-Bankstown.
Often, yes. If you own the property outright or have paid down enough of the current loan, the land can cover the share of the project a deposit would normally cover. You will still want savings for costs and a buffer for changes during construction.
Yes. Once the old house is demolished you will be paying rent, or another housing cost, while interest runs on the construction loan. A lender looks at whether your income can carry both for the length of the build, and delays can add months.
It depends on the house and on what you want from it. A structurally sound bungalow that needs a new kitchen, bathroom or rear extension can often be improved with an equity release or a smaller loan.
General information only, not credit or financial advice. Lender policies and government scheme criteria differ and change over time. All lending is subject to individual assessment and approval.
