Perth in the early 2000s was a stark contrast to our previous home in India. For starters, Perth completely lacked the urban sprawl that a city like Mumbai offered. You couldn’t really mention urban living and Perth in the same sentence, given the entire central business district (CBD) spanned one single street!
Over the past two decades, Perth’s population has grown modestly, with spikes during the late 2000s and early 2010s. However, instead of expanding up, Perth’s property market expanded out. Perth’s current metropolitan is relatively flat and stretches to over 150 kilometres.
I’ve outlined my thoughts on why I believe urban living has received a lacklustre reception in Perth, and why that may continue to be the case for some time.
Perth residents Love The Coastline
When we were building our first home, we were surprised by the abundance of undeveloped land. What was interesting is that all this land was located kilometres away from the river or coastline.
Over the years, more coastal-adjacent land developments became available. However, they were further and further away from the city centre. To my surprise, these lots were swept up incredibly quickly.
It then became apparent that several Perth residents value beachside living over other preferences, such as convenience and access to infrastructure. They also preferred it to the considerable increase in commuting needed to reach their jobs.
There Is a Gross undervaluation of Public Transport
Perth’s public transport, in comparison to other similar cities. isn’t fantastic. However, a large contributor to this is the fact people choose to live such far distances away from central locations. As such, public services like buses and rail can only accommodate up to certain point.
What’s more interesting is that people choose to live away from public transport. This is in contrast to several other comparable cities, where nearby access to public transportation increases neighbouring home values.
I don’t know if it is due to a general mistrust in the public service, or a heavy reliance on personal transport. Whatever the reason, there is a weak correlation between access to transport and where people choose to live.
Local Councils Cannot Take All the Blame
Now, it is easy to blame government officials for Perth’s horizontally expansive landscape. However, I don’t believe they should shoulder all of the blame.
For starters, several local councils encourage higher urban density in areas close to amenities and existing infrastructure. They are willing to include R60 zoning codes in a number of established suburbs. This means you can include up to 60 dwellings per 10,000 sq m.
However, these changes only go so far. The Perth population must be willing to embrace a lifestyle change. While rental vacancy rates continue to be at record lows, more has to be done to incentivise Perth residents to either 1) re-zone their properties or 2) accept apartment living over single-family housing.
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It may be some time yet for this to be a serious problem. While Perth’s property market is currently booming, it is still yet to record the population growth figures that it witnessed in the 90s and 2000s. If that growth returns, and there’s very little outbound migration, we could witness a true test to the viability of Perth’s urban living landscape.
The content outlined above was written, edited and published by the Lost Realtor. The author has over 20 years or real estate sales and investing experience in the Australian property market. He has held senior positions in Australian building companies, including being the General Manager of the residential sales division of Collier Homes. His qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Graduate Diploma in Building and Construction Law.