Category: perth real estate

Still a place for premium in Perth

Samantha Reece recently attended the official opening of Aria in Swanbourne.

Developed by Blackburne Group, this project is priced from just $515,000 for one bedroom apartments and reflects a standard that, to date, is unsurpassed.

While some companies include elements such as a private dining room or boardroom in their premium developments, Aria has really taken luxury to the next level.

The entertaining area was stunning with uninterrupted views of Perth City and not only included a lap pool and sun deck, but bar area and private dining and lounge that reflected a multimillion dollar mansion in the Western Suburbs.

Coupled with a yoga room, gym, sauna, steam room and wine cellar, Aria successfully conveys a luxurious resort lifestyle.

In particular, the penthouse apartments were designed to reflect a two storey New York loft apartment and this further added to the cosmopolitan atmosphere.

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With much talk about the apartment market being more focused on affordability, it is nice to see that some developers recognise that downsizers in fact are looking to spoil themselves, even though they are forfeiting their four bedroom/2 bathroom home for a much smaller domain.

With 16 sales since the unveiling, the Aria project is also demonstrating that there are affluent buyers in the market, but that they are also discerning.

With the apartment market evolving in Perth, we need to remember that while choice of location is important so is choice of style and price point.

PropertyESP has no financial connection to Blackburne and this review has been written entirely independent of Blackburne and its associates.  We just like to share with our readers the evolving trends in the WA property scene!

Colliers predict some positive signs

Samantha Reece attended the Market Update hosted by Colliers International last week.

While some sectors may be feeling slightly nervous about WA’s economic future, the Colliers team showed data which demonstrated that we should still be feeling somewhat optimistic.

Yes, private investment did peak in 2013/14 with a 1 in 100 year event, but the forecast for ongoing private investment until 2025 is still $30 billion per annum and this is threefold what it was in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

And while these mining projects have propelled the investment engine, there is still another 12-18 months before they will come to their natural conclusion.

Population growth peaked at 90,000 a year, during the boom and this has come down to 30,000 a year.  It is expected that this will rebound to 40,000 a year in the next 12 months, and this is still twice the population growth that WA was experiencing in the 1990’s.

The ABS predicts a population growth of another 800,000 residents over the next 14 years. Ultimately they will need to be housed.

Interestingly, regional WA’s contribution to national GDP has grown from 7% to24%, however all the focus for population growth is still centred on the Perth metropolitan area.

With the mining sector coming off the boil, we are seeing other sectors such as retail, accommodation, public administration, scientific/professional/technical services and the education sector all growing.

Overall mining only contributes to 6.84% of WA’s employment but it is the construction sector which really is part of our powerhouse at 11%.

With regards to the property sector, Colliers are still seeing positive signs in the medium to high density markets in comparison to outer ring residential homes.

And while the supply wave does look high in comparison to population growth, the reality is that not all these projects will proceed.

But despite all these market adjustments, property prices have still remained stable.

Current vacancy rates for residential properties is at 6% but with population growth declining as well as incomes, Colliers believes that we will now see an increase in renters which is ideal for the investor market.

And with three emerging groups within the property sector including baby boomers, young families and young singles, the next ten years will see a drive towards apartment living and typically in the CBD or on transport nodes.

Overall, Colliers believed that any oversupply would be absorbed over the next 18-24 months and at that point, buyers would begin to recognise that opportunities were limited and this would buoy the market once again.

As with all things cyclical, what goes down, ultimately will go back up and Colliers were confident that other eastern states property markets would also start to see adjustments in the next 12-18 months.

The key opportunities that the Colliers team identified were medium/high rise developments within 20kms of the city or located on transport nodes, which will also reflect a level of retail/mixed use and we are seeing this come to fruition with developments penned for Garden City, South Perth and Canning Bridge.

At the end of the day, the Perth market is stabilising and there are still opportunities to be realised.  You just need to know where to look!