From Hovea to Menora: The little-known suburbs on homebuyers’ radar
They are suburbs that have been overshadowed by their better-known neighbours in Perth, but for buyers and investors, there are bargains to be found.
Strategic Property Group managing director Trent Fleskens said buying into a little-known suburb had its pros and cons. “On the plus side, you’re probably living a quiet and peaceful life with long-term neighbours and a high percentage of owner-occupiers,” he said. “On the downside, it may be a little harder to sell your property simply as a function of fewer people searching for your suburb online and buyers having less of a connection or reason to buy into the suburb.”
Coodanup
Bounded by the Serpentine River to the east and Harvey estuary to the south, the median house price in Coodanup experienced one of the biggest hikes in Greater Perth over the past five years, lifting more than 90 per cent.
But homes remain relatively affordable at $476,500 according to Domain’s House Price Report for the July quarter.
Suburbs in the City of Mandurah featured heavily in the best-performing suburbs for house price growth over a five-year period with prices in Greenfields rising 82 per cent to $500,000.
Woodlands
Perth’s runaway property prices are showing no signs of easing, but an analysis of Domain data has found a handful of suburbs where it is cheaper to buy a house now than it was a year ago.
Woodlands recorded one of the biggest drops in house prices over a five-year period, down 12.3 per cent to $1.09 million.
Real estate agent Corey Adamson said Woodlands was one of Perth’s most loved “off the radar” suburbs due to the extremely long tenure of the residents.
“Everyone knows Doubleview, Scarborough, Innaloo even Wembley Downs, however I think if you challenged someone south of the river to find Woodlands on the map they would have a hard time,” he said.
“There’s only every a few properties transacted each year and if I were to wager a guess I would say the majority of those sales come from deceased estates.
“People simply do not leave these areas.”
Menora
Nestled between Mt Lawley and Yokine, the inner-city suburb of Menora is synonymous with big homes on big blocks which have been in families for decades.
Adamson said Perth’s acute housing crisis, with less than 2000 houses for sale, meant buyers were widening their search area.
“Five years ago if someone wanted to live in Mount Lawley they would only look in Mount Lawley,” he said.
“Now that same buyer will also likely look in Inglewood, Yokine, Menora, Coolbinia, Tuart Hill, Joondanna, Mount Hawthorn and anything else close by.”
According to REIWA data the median house price is $1.54 million with just 13 views of residential properties for sale in this suburb within the past fortnight. The Perth average is 131 views per suburb.
Hovea
It doesn’t have the old ramshackle character homes like some of the other older Hills suburbs but Hovea is described by locals as the “Dalkeith of the Hills”.
This exclusive suburb nestled in the leafy eastern suburbs would have many scratching their heads trying to pinpoint it on a map.
Halfway between Midland and Mundaring, Hovea is named after the purple native flower common along the Darling Scarp. It’s a large lifestyle suburb with acreage blocks, that backs on to the John Forrest National Park.
The area was developed in the 1980s when subdivision was revised down to 2.5 acres and is now home to just 620 residents.
Daglish
It’s not as well known as its neighbour Subiaco, but tiny Daglish is still a tightly held suburb according to Ray White agent Laura Johns.
“It doesn’t have the prestige that Subiaco holds, but it’s a great alternative considering Subiaco has seen a huge amount of price growth recently, Subiaco is now more expensive than many of the western suburbs,” she said.
“Daglish is full of quiet tree-lined streets and is traditionally most attractive to families and young professionals due to its proximity to transport and the city.
“It offers generally larger, more affordable blocks than Subiaco and with green parkland dominating the suburb, the area is perfect for buyers looking for more space.”
Buyers’ agent Peter Gavalas said smaller lesser-known suburbs often represented better value.
“We can have our bias towards certain suburbs due to historical perceptions,” he said.
“East coast investors will look at a suburb for its location and price without preconceived thoughts like we have seen in suburbs like South Perth versus Kensington and Claremont versus Mount Claremont.
“Depending on buyers’ requirements, these neighbouring more affordable suburbs can represent great value, provided you are happy to drive an extra three minutes to the local shop or train station.”
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