new guy Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hi Just curious on people's opinions of house prices in the mandurah area. I've been in perth for a few years now and at the stage where I'm thinking about buying property. When looking on Real Estate websites i've been struck by how cheap housing appears to be in and around mandurah. For example there are a few 1 bed apartments advertised below $100,000 and having visited the area this seems incredibly cheap. I just keep thinking that anywhere else in the world if you had a place that beautiful built around the canal system less than an hour from the City then the prices would be crazy. It's not that I necessarily plan on living in that area but it started me wondering about investment opportunities particularly for apartments. SO I was just wondering...what am I missing? Do Perth locals just not visit mandurah for a weekend break? Is it too quiet to draw holiday or longer term rent? Can't Help feeling I'm missing something Any thoughts would be appreciated Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7cdb Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hi Just curious on people's opinions of house prices in the mandurah area. I've been in perth for a few years now and at the stage where I'm thinking about buying property. When looking on Real Estate websites i've been struck by how cheap housing appears to be in and around mandurah. For example there are a few 1 bed apartments advertised below $100,000 and having visited the area this seems incredibly cheap. I just keep thinking that anywhere else in the world if you had a place that beautiful built around the canal system less than an hour from the City then the prices would be crazy. It's not that I necessarily plan on living in that area but it started me wondering about investment opportunities particularly for apartments. SO I was just wondering...what am I missing? Do Perth locals just not visit mandurah for a weekend break? Is it too quiet to draw holiday or longer term rent? Can't Help feeling I'm missing something Any thoughts would be appreciated Thanks Verystormy lives there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 I can't speak for Mandurah itself but we are buying an hour in the other direction from Perth. There does seem to be this mentality that anything that's more than 30 minutes from the CBD requires a day trip and a picnic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou8670 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Share Posted June 1, 2014 I'm no expert but from what I've seen there are some quite rough areas in and around Mandurah. The foreshore has more recently been developed and with the train line now running to Mandurah lots of very nice new houses have been built. People in Perth still see it as being too far to commute although lots do daily and probably not far enough for a holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 1, 2014 Report Share Posted June 1, 2014 Any apartment in mandurah for under $100k is not likely to be in an area that you would either wnt to live or where your potential tenants would. Apartments in mandurah are cheaper than Perth, because in the boom, there was a huge rush to build loads of them. But, any "decent" one is still going to cost about half a million. House prices are cheaper simply because we are further away from perth. There are a lot of people who do not want to do a 50 minute commute. There can be some apartments that appear wonderful, such as Aqueous. Have been for a look round twice and incredible apartments and very cheap for what you get with incredible views from the balconies across the peel. Problem is that they are very badly infested with mozzies and is prone to Ross River virus. Hence they are still half empty several years after completion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akasully2 Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 What is Ross river virus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 Ross River is a mozzie born virus. There is no vaccine or anything to prevent it. It won't kill you, but will make you very ill - in bed for a month. It can be carried by any mozzie in WA, but some areas are worse than others. Areas that are particularly bad are usually signed by the council. For example, right outside the apartments I mention is a sign warning of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 Funny though of course I've heard of it but I've never met anyone whose had it. Even when I was Home Helping and meeting lots and lots if the elderly who'd lived here all their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 It is not super common, these are the stats. Though it is not known how many cases go unreported / undiagnosed. http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/3/1528/3/ross_river_virus.pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibbs Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 There does seem to be this mentality that anything that's more than 30 minutes from the CBD requires a day trip and a picnic! That's because it does require a day trip (over night stay is preferable) and a picnic Mandurah is a nice area. Apartments have issues with strata fees which can be astronomic, and anything with a water view should still be half a mill easy. It used to be a retirement area about 20 years ago (but with all things, this has changed) but the stigma is still there (not sure if stigma is the right term, as it's a bit negative - but people do still think of it as a 'pommy place to retire'). I'd happily live there, but maybe not in the 100k apartments as I'd imagine they are not in the nicest areas. Do you have a like to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 Disagree with the thought that it is so far away. Fifty minutes is not far. Don't know about it being a pommy retirement place either. We are the only Poms in our suburb. As a whole, I would say it has far less than pretty much any of the northern suburbs. Water view apartments are going to be expensive and in my opinion not worth it. I am building a house for half a mill - including land with a water view. It's big pluses are that it is commutable for working in Perth - hence why the train is so busy but you can live close to the beach at a fraction of the cost of living beachside in Perth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibbs Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 For older west Australians, a 50min commute is huge. It was a English Retirement area 20 years ago (my own grandfather did exactly that moving to Silver Sands in his 60s). 20 years ago, the northern suburbs pretty much stopped at Stirling. It's still 10% English, which is a lot less than the newer places. http://localstats.qpzm.com.au/stats/wa/south-western/south-west/mandurah As I said, it has this 'image' that isn't relevant any more, but it still has it amongst those that don't live there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaP Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 An ex-boss of mine had his weekend house in Mandurah and loves the place (but then it is right on the canals!). I honestly don't have the same vibe for it - as someone else mentioned, the 'seafront' area can be a bit rough, although they have been trying to clean it up. The canals are pretty and there are some nice cafes, but I honestly think it lacks character and soul. Just my opinion of course. And although it may only be an hour away on a clear run, the traffic congestion here at rush-hour on the freeways is total madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 An ex-boss of mine had his weekend house in Mandurah and loves the place (but then it is right on the canals!). I honestly don't have the same vibe for it - as someone else mentioned, the 'seafront' area can be a bit rough, although they have been trying to clean it up. The canals are pretty and there are some nice cafes, but I honestly think it lacks character and soul. Just my opinion of course. And although it may only be an hour away on a clear run, the traffic congestion here at rush-hour on the freeways is total madness. But it is only 50 mins by train to Perth. Train runs about every 10 minutes. Personally I find it has a lot more soul than Perth. Never heard anyone think the foreshore was rough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaP Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Yes the train service is great, but a lot of people need to drive to work for various reasons, so this is where it gets to be a bit of a pain. I only talk from experience with regards to the foreshore area, but admittedly I don't go there often. I did see in the news the other day that the WA police are doing some sort of blitz because the crime rate is creeping unacceptably high (2nd highest in the state I think). These stats of course cover the whole district and I totally agree that there are some beautiful areas. Just my personal opinion that it wouldn't be my ideal place to live, especially having to commute by car to Perth every day. But then my 'ideal' place would be WAY out of my price range! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfie Posted June 27, 2014 Report Share Posted June 27, 2014 But it is only 50 mins by train to Perth. Train runs about every 10 minutes. Personally I find it has a lot more soul than Perth. Never heard anyone think the foreshore was rough! Have to agree with Stormy Mandurah foreshore is definitely not rough. Its packed with families on the weekends tourists also throughout the week. I am quite happy to take a stroll there in the evenings on my own with dog and take some fab pics also. Rather walk there than through Perth of an evening dodging all the very mentally ill people on the streets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.