Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

I stayed with friends in Perth for a year (Duncraig/padbury area) back in 1997/98.
I simply loved it there. I am doing some homework on the possibilties of migrating there, as I have passed the skills test, and I know that is just a small step on a long road to Oz.

However, how much has the suburbs grown since 1998? there was only a few cities just north of padbury but not very many. I also need to know the average house price of each area, (I have found similar info on the web, but I would rather hear from residents that live there).

I have gained a wife and 2 kids so I need info on the best schools etc.

The coastline from Scarborough beach right upto Hillarys and beyond was beautiful (although pricey, if I remember correctly).

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Look on this site for homes.
http://www.wa.realnet.com.au/

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

The Property Report was just published this past Saturday, so here's some info on the two suburbs ...

Padbury:
Median price: $167k
Highest price: $430k
% change 12 months: 12.4

Duncraig:
Median price: $245k
Highest price: $640k
% change 12 months: 16.2

Duncraig is officially one suburb but real estate agents tend to divide the suburb into two, with Warwick Road as the separator. The section south of Warwick is known as Duncraig South and its houses are more expensive. Nothing wrong with the northern section. It's older and just doesn't have some of the fancier, newer homes in the southern section. You can get perfectly nice homes in the northern part of Duncraig. Some might need a bit of updating though, others just a bit of paint.

Personally, I prefer Duncraig over Padbury, which still has a few rough spots. Nothing terrible, just not the same demographics. My kids go to Duncraig Senior High and I know of several kids who live in Padbury but whose parents prefer them going to Duncraig SHS versus Padbury High. Reason: they claim it's a slightly rough school. That's changing slowly, just not quick enough for some.

Perth has continued to spread north since you've been here. We'll probably swallow up Yanchep within a few years.

I'm not familiar with the primary schools in either suburb but am very happy with Duncraig Senior High. It's got a nice feel to it. Not too big. Great principal. My kids are doing very well there. I suppose if the kids in the high school are pretty decent, they must have come from some decent primary schools beforehand.

Yes, the coastline is beautiful. Beach suburbs are always pricier than suburbs more inland. Same with suburbs on the river and really close to the CBD (downtown). But I don't see living one or two suburbs inland as all that big of a deal. Even if you live less than a km. from the beach, you're likely still going to take your car if you're going to spend a morning/arvo on the beach. Too much gear to take with you to walk there. So I wouldn't discount suburbs slightly inland if you would like to make the beach a big part of your lifestyle but are concerned with distances. Duncraig would only be about 2-4 km from the nearest beach - Sorrento - but would be closer to the freeway and train station.

Good luck,

Helena

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Thanks Helena for your reply.

I wish I had paid more attention when I stayed in the suburbs, but 90% of the time I was on a beach some where (I am a windsurfer) places like Lancellin, Geraldton and my all time Fav place Margeret River).

My friends were living in a rented house in Duncraig (Myree way I believe) but the week I left Oz, they had brought a house in Padbury. I also done some work for a chap that lived in Padbury.
Since then I have lost touch with them, but I am trying to find out where they are now, any ideas?

I do remember though getting a bus to the train station then the train into Perth etc and thinking, the public transport here really works. And just like you said the beach is like 5-10 mins away.

The only thing that worry's me, although the house prices are pretty good in Oz, my wife and I would be earning nearly half in Oz (I am currently living in Dallas TX although I am a Brit, my wife is a U.S citizen), compared to what we are earning now. so its bit of a catch 22 situation.

I think that maybe a vacation to Perth with the family will hopefully give them a good enough impression to move there...Fingers and toes crossed.

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Ah well, WA is windsurfer's heaven, isn't it? Almost guaranteed a good wind somewhere. They'll be extending the road up to Lancelin soon so it'll be a shorter ride.

Myaree Way. That's the northern part of Duncraig, close to Marmion and Warwick. Nice area, very close to Duncraig Primary and a small shopping centre with a great fruit & veg man and a lovely South African butcher. Too bad they couldn't buy there, but then Padbury is cheaper. I suppose it's better to buy your own home versus being beholden to a landlord for too long. Padbury's improving all the time. Property values are increasing so it's bound to. Only a few small sections are a little tired and bleak looking but not as many as even a few years ago when we looked there.

Look up their names in the White Pages - www.whitepages.com.au I think it is.

I think it's great. My husband takes it every day. I take it into town 2 or 3 times a week to get to my part-time jobs. I've driven as well but prefer the bus/train. Rush hours here aren't as horrible as many cities but I prefer to bring a good book and let the bus & train drivers do the work. The train's so smooth that even if you have to stand up, you can still stand and read without fear of being flung all over the place. The bus is never packed, there's always a seat.

You have to do the math because every situation is different. We did. For us, having a mortgage in Vancouver and paying high insurance rates and property taxes and everything else always had us in a three steps forward, two steps back situation. Just couldn't see that light at the end of the tunnel, and the province politics were really insane. And the weather sucked. For us it worked out well coming here, being mortgage free, no loans, ability to save and put away for retirement. We might not have been able to be in that situation 10 years earlier, or if we had moved to a high priced city like Sydney, or if we hadn't been lucky enough to be able to cash in a lot of equity in our home (Vancouver's property market went nuts after 1987).

My husband earns a bit less than he did in Vancouver but he doesn't have nearly as much stress and responsibility either. It depends on the industry you're in, and probably a bit of luck landing the right job. Sometimes that part of it doesn't work out, especially in IT these days, so that's a factor to worry about. When we arrived in '99, IT wasn't so dire. Things might not have turned out so well had we arrived 2 years later, who knows. Although we wouldn't have come without having at least enough money to live on for a year or more (after buying a house), as we did in '99. We're just a bit careful that way. Adventurous, to a point :)

We did that in 97/98, came for a "research" visit. It was a lovely holiday but at the same time we did a lot of information gathering. We went to Open Houses - purchase and rentals, pretending we were new residents. We went to car lots and looked at cars, test drove a few. We stayed with friends and did grocery shopping. We were nosey parkers and asked them how much they paid in council rates, insurance, electricity, water, gas, bank fees, etc., etc. Luckily they were good friends so they had no problem with that :) Of course, it's nothing like living here but at least we had a good idea of basic costs.

Yes, a visit is definitely a must. Good luck,

Helena

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Helena,

Sorry but Myaree is way south of Perth :)

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Do not worry after reading her last post , I would say the tablets are kicking in North or South who cares?:D :cool:

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Southcoast,
If you want to check out some house prices, try this site: http://www.review.com.au/cgi-bin/ppm...=bres&bymap=no

Just key in the post code. If you start at 6025 and go to 6029 (these are all the suburbs from Duncraig, through to just past Joondalup). These are all the suburbs along the coast and one or two burbs in from the coast. This will give you some idea of price and size and type of house you will get for your money.

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

PB, c u r still hard at work :rolleyes: , u must b on your lunch break!!!, it is nearly midnight here, so time for nighty nights :(

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Thanks everyone for their input, its much more interesting reading personal views on Perth etc, rather then spending hours filtering through websites.

Suebo,
Helena is correct though, Myaree way is in Duncraig, she knew exactly where I am talking about (the little shopping center etc). There was also the more important beer store there and a english style fish and chip shop.

Another thing that greatley impressed me around that area was all the parks and footie fields, it just seems like the architects got it spot on.
All the houses are nicely built apart, but all very accessible to public transport, where I am currently living, if you haven't got a car, then basically you aren't going anywhere (very annoying).

Everything you guys tell me, is now bringing back the memories, and makes me all the more determined to migrate there.

Its great news about the road to Lancellin, I think it took me about 1 hour from Duncraig, but Geraldton was like 41/2 hours.

What I do love is the slow pace there (not everyones cup of tea I know) but I am just like an aussie play first, work second. Living in the states is hard work, I am lucky to get 1 week off a year, no sick pay, no personal days etc. I work in Telecomms, I think between that and IT its probably the worst trade to be in right now.

Anyways back to the homework (house pricing and job searhing etc).

thanks for the good luck everyone. If you have anymore info, then please post it, its very interesting.

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Okay, I am not going to be picky, but unless they have actually named a shopping centre Myaree - near Duncraig, Myaree the suburb is about 20 mins drive south on Perth, near Booragoon - Leach Highway. I already knew this, but just checked it out to be positive before opening my big mouth and making a fool of myself:) Sorry, but after livng in Perth for 25 years.....

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

The road (in which my friends lived in) was called myaree way (I think it was spelt like that) even a taxi driver there had problems trying to find it! I am sure your right about the suburb Myaree though.

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

OIC, that clarifies it then, you are talking about a street, not a burb:)

Re: Housing in Perth Suburbs.
 

Yup, Myaree Way is just a little curvy street in Duncraig. Easy to get confused. So many suburbs and odd sounding names, it's not difficult to mix things up. To add to the confusion, the little shopping centre Southcoast is talking about is on Marri Road. Marri, Myaree, say them fast enough and they almost sound the same too. :)