The calculation, while encouraging for investors, has a couple of caveats, one of which is this: Perth’s median unit values are still lower. This means that, for those considering a move to Perth City, the time is now.
Brendon Habak is Selling Principal at Inhabit Property. He’s also REIWA Sales Committee Chair and the top-selling REIWA agent in the City of Perth. Brendon describes a shift in buyers as the market continues to climb.
“We have enjoyed a surge of would-be renters deciding to buy a city home rather than compete as a prospective tenant and then pay high weekly rents when they secure one,” says Brendon.
“There is also a rise in ‘investor-occupiers’, which is a term I use to describe downsizers that are buying in the city today for an affordable price and renting their newly purchased city property for the short-to-medium term until they are ready to sell their large family home and transition to city living.”
With the pool of buyers opening up, Brendon says city apartments are typically on the market for “between three days and three weeks, when priced, presented and promoted well. Our days on market are getting lower and lower, and with spring and summer ahead I expect that to continue.”
Apartment living is now on the agenda for almost everyone. Diverse buyers mean apartment buildings become neighbourhood communities in miniature; innovative facilities mean the pool of potential residents is further widened. The desire for an inner-city lifestyle has grown exponentially in the last twenty – or even ten – years. It’s easy to see why an agent would choose to sell in Perth City.
Says Brendon, “Pets are well catered for in new developments, with their own wash down areas and pet leisure facilities. Virtual golf ensures that wet weather does not disadvantage your stroke. Business lounges with video conferencing pods are a big hit post-covid, children’s play areas are popular with young families and retirees welcoming grandchildren for the weekend, and wine lounges and outdoor fire pits are nice spaces for residents to entertain guests.
“Your expenses when living in an apartment are often much cheaper compared to a house in the suburbs due to lower daily travel costs, no gym and pool membership, reduced building maintenance expenses and the drop in home insurance costs as a result of the strong buying power of a strata group.”
An apartment in the City of Perth is attractive to buyers as a lifestyle choice today, and an investment in a positive future. Brendon says residents can look forward to “…a well-planned and carefully constructed world-class city. Public, private and tertiary education options (will be) at the forefront, with free-flowing transportation, our daytime cafe-culture and outdoor leisure and sporting events remaining paramount to our international identity.
“The Plain Street sporting hub, foreshore redevelopment options, ECU in the City, future East Perth primary school, and the footbridge from McCallum Park to Point Fraser all mean that buying today will set you up for WA’s future lifestyle.
“You can buy in Perth City for less than Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and you have the ability to move quickly and freely from the city to the beach, the valley, the hills, south of Perth, the airports and even Rottnest Island.”
There are over 300 suburbs in Perth and counting. As the median price rises, buyers are looking for somewhere they hadn’t considered for the lifestyle they want, at a price they can afford. In Perth City, Brendon has already found it.
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