kev9672jedi

Hi all just wondering if any one can let us know how bad the house prices really are in perth.

Perth is where we really wanted to go but every one says the house prices are too high now, we were thinking of Adelaide but reading the posts on here Im not sure about it any more, sounds very quiet!

Would moving to Perth mean we would have a less there than here in the UK?

Any info would be appreciated

Julie

steve`o

try searching through

realestate.com.au


http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...s&u=PERTH&s=wa

you`ll need to find an area postcode for more detailed searches

northernbird

House prices in the last 2 years have gone mental in Perth. You won't get much of a house for under $400k anymore unless you live in what is considered an undesirable area or that needs stacks of work. Like anywhere in the world, if a house is cheap in there is usually a reason for it. Depends what you want out of life. Perth isn't a hussling bussling city and if you are big pub goer or clubber then you can forget it. Perth is the most isolated city in the world so if you like scooting of to Europe for holidays for cheap prices again forget Perth because its 5 hours and a stack of money to get anywhere on a plane. Plenty of threads on here about Perth so get searching and make sure you pour yourself a large drink because discussion on Perth usually are long winded and very heated

Koala Konnection

See my posting: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=474596

Now you know (partially) why...

Paul.

northernbird

The state is undergoing a boom which has nothing to do with poms coming to Perth. House prices were always low compared to anywhere else in australia and had to go up at some stage.

Amazulu

Sure. I also reckon your average 4x2 in a 'nicer' Legoland suburb is the same in most capital cities - give or take $30-50k.

Koala Konnection

Yes, quite right, but supply and demand does have a knock on effect, and so does people arriving with cash in their pockets from overseas. Hence the word 'partially' in brackets. My original point made in the other topic was regarding the influx of Brits into Perth and the effect not only it is having on the housing situation (partially again) but also on the Aussies themselves.

Paul.

worzel

House prices have risen sharply in the last 2 or 3 years on the back of the boom but they have only caught up with most of the major cities so expensive is a relative term. But remember, that depending on your profession, the salaries have risen too. (rider - yes I know teachers, nurses etc haven't seen the benefit like Engineers).

At the end of the day we sold a house in the UK for $625K equivalent and bought one for $368K that was equivalent + pool. It would probably cost $500K now but that is still a big gain. Of course, it depends on what part of the UK you are coming from how much equity you bring.

Just Lisa

Perth is far too quiet for me!! If I could afford to live ner the city I'd be there but not a chance...
Adelaide is not that quiet.. why not take a trip and look around, otherwise you take into account what others have said without experiencing it yourself.

Koala Konnection

Here, here. Adelaide is a beautiful city and the people are perhaps the friendliest of all the capitals. That's my experience.

Paul.

mbike

Hopefully other posters will fill you in on the pros and cons of living in Perth. I will try to tell you a bit about the property market as I see it right now. I'm sure there will be differences of opinion but that's what forums are for.

Looking at realestate.com.au (or REIWA.com.au) only really tells you half the story. Prices are very inflated here at the moment and we seem to be at the cusp of a correction (papers were talking about a -10% adjustment recently) Whilst real estate agents (and REIWA, the real estate institute) would have you believe everything is still rosy in their property listings, Rob Druitt the REIWA head admitted in the paper last weekend that houses were taking much longer to move and people should be prepared to cut their prices or risk not selling. A quick drive around most neighbourhoods would show you how many properties are for sale.

Unfortuantely there is nothing like nethouseprices.co.uk over here to show you how the market is really performing so you have to go on the REIWA figures and the papers. Trouble is the papers derive such a huge part of their income from RE revenue they tend to talk up the market. So it's a case of Buyer Beware if you are entering the market for the first time.

You should also consider that Perth's isolation works against it in so far as there is a limited housing stock so price establishment tends to be based around a smaller base. In practice this can be as simple as one or two house selling in a neighbourhood for 1.5million making the entire neighbourhood worth that much - especially in suburbs that border more established ones. Unfortunately house stock varies wildly from street to street which gives some sellers a distorted view of the value of their property (although not the land itself - see below). As a buyer you find yourself dumbfounded at what some of the valuations were based upon.

Auctions seem to be growing in popularity in the last few months - mainly because two interested buyers bidding against each other can acheive a price relative to their own enthusiasm on the day, rather than the market conditions themselves. Having said that most properties seemd to be being passed in at the moment.

Prices are increasingly being based on land value here too, reflecting some wealthy (or otherwise) buyers tendency to demolish a home as soon as they buy it and rebuild new. This can be a shock for UK arrivals, for whom bricks and mortar is what owning a house is all about.

Then there are property speculators, who are very aggressive in their pursuit of profits, who will buy up larger blocks and subdivide (often selling the new homes for the same price as the entire original block). They tend to bid cash and many blocks are now priced to reflect future potential subdivision profit (when you see "zoned R40" etc you know the RE agent is pitching to speculators).

There is much talk about a two tier market developing in Perth (which suits RE agents as they can segment the market and target properties and buyers more closely). What this means - and this is a bit of a generalisation - is that Western Suburbs, Coastal Real Estate and South-of-River RE tends to be seen as prime, neighbouring areas are sold as "up and coming" while areas more inland/midland areas are being marketed as affordable. The Pom effect many talk about seems to be localised to the Northern Suburbs and Rockingham - these areas have experienced mini booms themselves as poms seek out friends colleagues and folk they've met on here who talk highly of their neighbourhoods.

The resources boom, while obviously affecting Perth prices, is actually much more noticible in areas like Port/South Hedland. If Perth appears wealthier per se, it is more likely to be an effect of the property boom itself as long-time owner occupiers unlock equity in their houses to enjoy life a bit more. Having said that, prime real estate in places like the Western Suburbs does still seem to be being snapped up by resource workers (several of our old neighbours in Subi were ex-pats involved in minerals).

There is something of a squeeze on rentals at the moment so the previous option of coming over and renting for a while while you find the right place is a bit trickier. Ultimately, if you are coming over from the UK, bringing a good amount of equity with you and want to buy for the long-term, you can still buy somewhere nice in Perth. Watch the markets though as there is likely to be a credit squeeze making borrowing to buy your dream home more expensive in the months to come.

Check out the free suburb data reports here:
http://reports.rpdata.com.au/cgi-bin...page=viewprice
if you fall in love with somewhere on real estate. com.au

Cheers

Mark

Bobcat

What is your budget?

Dorothy

I've lived in both Perth and Adelaide. You can certainly buy a house for much less $$ in Adelaide than in Perth, but then wages are lower in ADL. Perth is (in my opinion only) much nicer to look at. I did like the smallness that Adelaide had, though. Fantastic transit system there and you can be just about anywhere in 1/2 hour.

melaniee

All depends on what your budget is, where you want to live, how much money you are bringing over and how much you will earn-it is all relative....

jensteve

Hey you can buy my 4x2 with pool, we have bought land outside the metro area of Perth and am in the process of selling.
I know people say the housing has gone up but it has caught up with the rest of Australia now. There was an article in the paper the other day saying 1st timers have to go back to basics and buy 3x1&carport and the like, unlike at the present everyone seems to "need" a 4x2 with pool which is great if you have the cash and equity to do this, this is why people are having huge mortgages, new buyers seem incapable of starting at the bottom of the ladder, even the ones who buy a block of land build the biggest house possible, and thats without me going in to the whole cinema room thing and huge master bedrooms that could house a family of pigmys!
It all seems very strange to me.
Jenny