Six suburbs join $1m club
Six Perth suburbs - Ellenbrook, Huntingdale, North Lake, Piara Waters, Pickering Brook and Wandi - have become million-dollar neighbourhoods for the first time in the past year, notching up property sales over $1 million.
Data to be released by the Real Estate Institute of WA today reveals 26 suburbs joined the million-dollar club for the first time in 2013-14 or returned to the club after an absence.
REIWA president David Airey said it showed metropolitan Perth's housing prices were still climbing despite slow growth.
"Despite what has been relatively low or slow growth in the Perth property market, it's been enough to push a few previously unthought of suburbs into the million-dollar bracket, which is in itself quite new," he said.
"That doesn't mean every house in an area has suddenly gone over a million. There have been sales in those six new suburbs over a million dollars and some other areas have had a return or a continuing growth over $1 million sales."
REIWA said sales of $1 million to $2 million increased from 6.7 to 8.2 per cent for houses and from 3.3 to 3.4 per cent for apartments from 2012-13 to 2013-14.
Mr Airey said this growth pulled more suburbs into the million-dollar club.
He said in many cases it was because suburbs have been rezoned to allow higher density living.
Kaziah Dawes lives with her partner Justin and six-month-old twins Indigo and James in her dream home in Ellenbrook.
The couple bought the five- bedroom property for $1.2 million last year, opening the door for the north-eastern suburb to join the million-dollar club.
"We originally saw this house being built and it was a joke that one day we would buy it and we did," she said.
"We couldn't build it for what we paid for it. It's granite from top to bottom. It's like something out of a magazine. It's the biggest house in Ellenbrook."
Ms Dawes said she has seen big changes in Ellenbrook in her 10 years living there, with more bigger and expensive properties being built or renovated in the area.
"Between then and now, it has changed astronomically," she said. "It's very nice."
Perth's median house price is $540,000, and $450,000 for units and apartments.
