Wealthy downsizers seeking luxury pads in the inner suburbs lifted new apartment sales in Perth to their highest level in five years in the June quarter, according to research by consultancy Urbis
Between March and June, Urbis recorded 475 off-the-plan sales worth a combined $430 million, the highest number of sales since the first quarter of 2016 and following two strong prior quarters which combined yielded 871 sales over the six months to March.
Highlighting the appetite for new apartments, off-the-plan sales over the June quarter were higher than resales of existing apartments.
Buyers of new apartments in Perth – both owner occupiers and investors – qualify for stamp duty rebates of 75 per cent up to a maximum of $50,000 with no cap on the purchase price.
As has been the case on the Gold Coast, where off-the-plan sales are booming, demand in Perth was driven by owner occupiers seeking larger apartments.
More than three-quarters of Perth new apartment buyers in the June quarter were owner-occupiers, while more than 50 per cent of sales were in developments classified as “luxury” or “premium” by Urbis.
Reinforcing this trend, the average sale price for the June quarter was over $900,000, up 42 per cent on the $633,000 recorded by Urbis in the first quarter of the year.
“This quarter two of the top three selling projects were by [developer] Edge Visionary Living and the average price was the highest that we have ever seen,” Urbis director David Cresp told The Australian Financial Review.
“Edge [led by Gavin Hawkins]has become Perth’s top seller of very upmarket apartments aimed at downsizing baby boomers.
“Edge’s Riviere project is right up there in terms of being Perth’s most luxury apartment development on the waterfront in Applecross. This quarter it has 33 sales with an average price of almost $2 million,” Mr Cresp said.
According to Urbis, the top-selling precincts for the quarter were all Perth’s premium suburbs led by the city-fringe south precinct, which recorded 179 sales across 27 projects at a weighted average sale price of $1.3 million.
The other areas that saw strong demand were the Western Suburbs, which recorded 76 sales across 26 projects at an average sale price of $913,000.
Rising demand coupled with a sharp drop in the number of unsold completed apartments – down to 1210 from 1838 at the start of the year – has encouraged developers to pull the trigger on new projects.
Urbis expects a further 19 projects and 1486 apartments to be launched at some stage over the next 12 months.
This article is from Australian Financial Review, please click the following link for the original article: https://www.afr.com/property/residential/downsizer-demand-lifts-perth-new-apartment-sales-to-five-year-high-20210831-p58nhn
