Revealed: The Perth suburb where land costs just $57 per square metre

Home buyers are paying more than $5000 per square metre for bricks and mortar within a stone’s throw of Perth’s CBD and beaches, according to fresh data from Domain.

Cottesloe recorded the most expensive rate at $6579 per square metre in 2024, with the suburbs’ median house price reaching $3.3 million on a median block size of 503 square metres.

A string of nearby suburbs followed, with houses in Crawley and Swanbourne costing more than $5000 per square metre.

Meanwhile, suburbs on the urban fringe and in the Perth Hills offered buyers the best value for money, with the median block up to 40 times the size of those inner-city properties and a fraction of the cost.

By contrast, buyers would get the best bang for their buck in Oakford, 40 kilometres south-east of the CBD, where land costs just $57 per square metre. The median house price hit $1.14 million on a median block size of 20,000 square metres.

Others in the list of the top 10 most affordable suburbs per square metre are located in the hills, including Chidlow ($187 per square metre), Bedfordale ($249 per square metre) and Mt Helena ($162 per square metre).

Across WA, the median price per square metre for houses was $1410 and for units was $5395.

The cheapest suburbs with an average block size of around 700 square metres include Medina ($481 per square metre), Calista ($513 per square metre) and Hillman ($611 per square metre).

Perth has witnessed consistent declines in floor size over the decade, with decreases of 7.8 per cent over the past decade.

Domain research and economics chief Nicola Powell said the continued decrease in floor size in Perth may raise eyebrows, especially considering it already had one of the nation’s smallest a decade ago.

She said the decline in land size was due to increased urban density.

“While it might seem surprising, this shift is essential for preserving and improving housing affordability for the broader population,” she said.

“Without the shift towards greater density and smaller land sizes over the past two decades, house prices would be vastly higher than they are today – higher by 44 per cent in Perth, 16 per cent in Adelaide, and 14 per cent in Melbourne.”

Powell said house and unit prices per square metre had been trending upward over the past five years, driven by higher prices and smaller land sizes.

“Australia has some of the world’s least-densely populated cities and is home to some of the most expensive property markets,” she said.

“Despite this, the desire of people to live in the capital cities has meant that more are trying to squeeze into them and are competing for housing.

“Land is finite, and we need to ensure it is provided at low cost and utilised efficiently. This will require a well-defined development plan from our government to ensure land-use policies meet housing needs.”

Estimates suggest a 10 per cent increase in housing stock lowers prices between 15 and 30 per cent.

Architectus principal Mark Mitchelson-Low said developers were struggling to achieve the required yields on property development given the land, labour and construction costs in a competitive market where the sales price must be right.

“The only way to optimise the yield and create profitable developments is to maximise site density,” he said.

“To achieve this, development sites are being squeezed to maximise built area and heights yet minimise setbacks.

“Although, this fits with the government’s intent to increase density to create more housing but leaves little left for landscaping.”

Mitchelson-Low said government planners should look to Singapore for novel ways to green the suburbs.

“To satisfy both the development yield criteria and greening criteria we may have to consider taking the landscape and tree canopy vertically in the form of more roof decks, garden terraces, and hanging and garden walls,” he said.

“Anyone who has been to Singapore would agree that there’s amazing greenery, the tropical climate certainly helps but the government policy is a significant factor.

“For every part of land or garden that is removed from the ground for the built development it must be replaced vertically up the building.”

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