Tag: Burswood

Apartments transform suburbs – and for the better!

Curious to see what has happened with the recent 2016 census, PropertyESP took a look at 3 suburbs that have been transformed by apartment developments to see what other changes to the suburb this had brought.

East Perth – originally an industrial suburb, EPRA (now MRA) was established in 1991 to redevelop and urbanise the suburb.   It did so with the development of Claisebrook Village, with introduced 1450 new dwellings as well as retail and commercial properties on the site of the former East Perth Gasworks, scrap yards, contaminated industrial sites, empty warehouses and railway yards (Source: MRA Claisebrook Village Fact Sheet).

In the 2001 Census of Population and Housing, East Perth (which is broader than just Claisebrook Village) had 1631 occupied private dwellings that were apartments and flats (making 81.2% of all occupied private dwellings in the suburb).  By 2016, this had risen to 4018 apartments and flats (88.8% of occupied private dwellings).  The big transformation of East Perth occurred between 2006 & 2011, with the addition of 1160 occupied private dwellings that were apartments and flats (a 67% increase), and between 2011 & 2016, with the addition of 1125 occupied private dwellings that were apartments of flats (a 39% increase).

What else changed in East Perth over this time?

  • There was a change from these apartments and flats being predominantly rentals to owner occupied.   In 2006 and 2011, the level of owner occupancy was hovered around 34%.  By 2016, 64% of occupied private dwellings that were apartments or flats were owner occupied.  Over the same period, the level of owner occupancy for apartments and flats in Greater Perth was unchanged (around 32%).  With the redevelopment, people are choosing to own and live in apartments and flats in East Perth.
  • Median household incomes for the suburb have surged ahead of Greater Perth.  In 2006, the median household income for East Perth was $1106 per week … on par with the $1086 for Greater Perth.  By 2016, median household income for East Perth had risen to $2301, well ahead of the $1643 for Greater Perth.
  • The types of households attracted to the suburb has changed.  In 2001, 46% of East Perth households were lone person households and 29% were couple households.  By 2016, the two were on par – 37% lone person households and 36% couple households.  Both groups have remained relatively stable across Greater Perth over the same period.  Whilst families have not been attracted to East Perth in droves – they currently make up 16% of households – they have risen in number, up 251% from 210 households in 2001 to 737 households in 2016.

Burswood – another older suburb that gained new life and widespread awareness with the building of the (then) Burswood Casino in the 1980s.  The suburb was officially gazetted in 1993.  Subsequent apartment developments in a similar vein to East Perth have continued to change the suburb but it’s location on the eastern bank of the Swan River provides for a different lifestyle experience to East Perth.

The 2001 Census of Population and Housing counted 187 occupied private dwellings that were apartments and flats (making 37.4% of all occupied private dwellings in the suburb).  By 2016 this had risen 183% to 530 occupied private dwellings that were apartments or flats.  More importantly, this changed the housing profile of the suburb, with 57.2% of occupied private dwellings being apartments or flats.  The really big transformation in Burswood occurred between 2006 & 2011.

What else changed in Burswood over this time?

  • As was observed in East Perth, there was an increase in owner occupancy of apartments and flats in the suburb.   In 2001 and 2006, the level of owner occupancy was hovered around 21%.  This rose to 36% in 2011 and 41% in 2016.  Apartments and flats in Burswood are still the domain of renters, but it has seen a doubling of owner occupancy levels over 15 years.
  • Median household incomes for the suburb have surged ahead of Greater Perth.  In 2006, the median household income for Burswood was $1091 per week … on par with the $1086 for Greater Perth.  By 2016, median household income for Burswood had risen to $2273, well ahead of the $1643 for Greater Perth.
  • The types of households attracted to the suburb has changed as well.  In 2001, 38% of Burswood households were lone person households and 31% were couple households.  By 2016, the situation has reversed – 30% lone person households and 38% couple households.  The proportion of family households has also increased, up from 18% in 2001 to 23% in 2016.  In numbers, they have risen 14% from 87 households in 2001 to 213 households in 2016.

Cockburn Central – the first purpose built TOD in the Perth metro area.  It was named in 2007 and was counted as a separate suburb for the first time in the 2011 Census.  The 2016 counted 403 apartments or flats as occupied private dwellings, making up 70.8% of the 569 occupied private dwellings in the suburb.  At 10 years of age, there’s not much  history or transformation to explore.  But as a purpose built regional centre for the surrounding area and designed with density and connectivity in mind, it serves as an interesting comparison to the other suburbs.

Firstly geography, Cockburn Central is 24km from the Perth CBD, connected by the Kwinana Freeway and Transperth rail.  That makes it further from Perth than East Perth and Burswood.  It has a number of employment opportunities close by, and is also well placed to connect to employment opportunities in the Perth CBD and the SW metropolitan industrial areas.

Who is living in Cockburn Central?

  • Cockburn Central is very much a renters suburb.  At the 2016 Census of Population and Housing, 71% of occupied private dwellings that are apartments or flats are rented, higher than for Cockburn Central properties in general (58%).   The level of renting is higher than for Greater Perth.
  • Median household income for the suburb is similar to Greater Perth – $1625 per week.
  • 37% of households are lone person households (similar to East Perth), 34% are couple households (lower than East Perth but, like East Perth, the proportion of couple households is growing).

With the newness of this suburb, it does tend to however indicate that it may follow the same pattern as Burswood and East Perth in time.

As PropertyESP has always attested – apartments in the housing mix does tend to attract a more professional resident with higher disposable incomes and that is good for the LGA overall.  If you would like to know what is happening in your suburb of development contact Sam Reece at info@propertyesp.com.au.  We love to get into the nitty gritty!

Burswood premium continues

PropertyESP will be releasing a media statement this week after examining the Burswood apartment market from 2013-2017.

While overall the median price for apartments in this locale has grown by 11% from $700,000 to $780,000, it is the fact that this growth has occurred across all bedroom configurations that makes it even more interesting.

One bedroom increased its median price point by 6% in these four years, two bedroom 17%, three bedroom 14.5% and four bedroom 8%.  This contrasts to other apartment nodes nearby.

Plus in this time frame only 16 properties resold and when you see property being held onto this tightly then there tends to be an indication of high satisfaction and a sense that more growth is anticipated.

The sales data also demonstrated Burswoods’ preference for larger apartments with 21% three bedroom apartments sold in the four years, in comparison to its counterpart in Rivervale which sold just 13%.

There are calls from some Councils that apartments in fact can dilute the premium brand of a suburb – but in this case it is quite clear that Burswood not only has established this solid reputation but also maintained it.

Plus with the Stadium finishing and the Burswood Peninsula Precinct Plan on the horizon, this suburb will only continue to grow in value.

If you like the way we look at data – then let us have a look at your suburb.  Unlike Eastern States companies, PropertyESP gets into the nitty gritty and we look at the long term – not just the last quarter.  Because the devil is in the detail!

 

The Springs is ready to boom!

I attended an interesting breakfast the other day, hosted by the Property Council and which outlined what is happening at The Springs in Rivervale.

This is a 14ha parcel of land nestled between Polly Farmer Fwy and Great Eastern Hwy and of course central to the new stadium, Crown Casino, Swan River and trainline into the city.

There are a number of developers in this precinct, which is being project managed by LandCorp, including Finbar, BGC, Psaros and Hillam.

While the majority of The Springs is residential (1900 apartments), there will also be 10,000sqm of commercial space, plus the first Sheraton Aloft hotel for WA.

The Aloft hotel will offer amenities for local residents to use as well as guests and will feature a rooftop bar as well as XYZ bar. This venue has attitude and will boast live music and tech forward thinking. Very exciting indeed!

At present there is $389 million of apartments being constructed with most being available for occupation mid 2016.

To date 36% of buyers have been investors and 64% owner/occupier.

Plus these buyers are coming from a range of areas including Como, East Perth, Rivervale, Ascot, South Perth, Southern River, Canning Vale, Thornlie, Victoria Park and Nollamara.

The breakdown of buyer ages is also just as varied:

springs graph 1

As can be seen by far, the 26-35 age group represents the biggest portion with 35% of buyers and it is not surprising considering the setting and the price advantage!

At the end of the day we believe that The Springs will in fact be the next East Perth and it is one of my hottest investment tips for Perth!

PropertyESP will be doing some further analysis work on The Springs precinct in the near future – so stay posted!