Perth has always been known as one of the most remote cities in the world. Perhaps as a result, the capital of Western Australia once held a reputation for being just a teeny bit boring — despite its beautiful beaches and abundant sunshine. Back in 2000, Lonely Planet nicknamed it “Dullsville”: a city that shut down at 6pm as workers retreated to the suburbs.
Now it’s about to get a whole lot hotter — and closer: Qantas has just announced the first nonstop flights from Britain to Australia, departing from Heathrow and landing in Perth. Set to launch in March 2018, they will take about 17 hours, down from the current 19-plus with a stopover.
The long haul is worth it: the city is becoming more exciting, too. After lagging behind Sydney for years, the food scene is taking off, with plenty of sophisticated restaurants opening over the past few years, particularly in boho Fremantle, on the coast. Bib & Tucker and May Street Larder, both co-owned by the Olympic swimmer turned chef Eamon Sullivan, are a case in point.
The big hotel brands are moving in, too. In 2019, after a 15-year absence from Oz, Ritz-Carlton is set to open its doors at the Aus$400m (£230m) Elizabeth Quay redevelopment. It’s a telltale sign: Perth is becoming a business hub thanks to its proximity to Asia.
As a place to live, it has always appealed to British expats: there’s more sunshine than in any other Aussie capital, so you can live a truly outdoor lifestyle, and property prices are more reasonable, too, according to Damien Cestrilli, a sales executive at Acton, a local estate agency. If you fancy long, lazy lunches overlooking the beach, or watching the sun set into the Indian Ocean, Perth is the place to do it.
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Yet when Claudia Baxter first moved down under from London in 2009, she headed for Sydney. Although she loved it at first, the event manager, 35, recently made the switch to Perth. “We’d had enough of the traffic and hectic Sydney life,” she says. “Perth represented a better quality of life and a slower, more relaxed pace. Also, property in Sydney was so expensive, and we were able to sell our apartment at the top of the market.”
That two-bedroom flat had a tiny garden and was on a busy street with no parking. It sold for $975,000 in February 2016. In Perth, Claudia and her husband, Jimmy, 33, operations manager for a bar group, found a two-bedroom 1950s cottage opposite a park in East Fremantle, with front and rear gardens, a double driveway and scope to extend. The price? Just $810,000.
“At weekends, we can ride our bikes everywhere,” she says. “It’s close to beaches and the river, and has easy connections to the city centre, as well as down to Margaret River for weekends surfing or wine-tasting. And property prices are low because of the decline of the mining industry, so we could get so much more for our money.”
Simon Conn, an overseas property and finance specialist, agrees that the local property market has “come off the highs” of a recent mining boom. “The peak average house price was $550,000 in June 2015,” he says. “The mean today is approximately $525,000 (£300,000).”
Which means now is a good time to buy, especially because competition may increase when those direct flights take off next year. “Perth has long been a drawcard for Brits emigrating to Australia,” says Jonathan Alsford, director of the local estate agency Realmark Whitfords. “Everyone is talking about the direct flight, so we’re sure it will have a positive impact on decision-making about emigrating and buying property in Perth.”
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British buyers can be found across the city, but have increasingly been putting down roots near the beach. “Traditionally, people from the UK settled near the city centre,” says Katy Dean, research manager at Savills Australia. “But over the past decade, populations have been growing in the northwest areas of Perth — largely in beachside suburbs.”
Thousands of Brits have already swapped life in Britain for the classic Aussie lifestyle: shrimps on the barbie by the pool in the back garden. If you’re thinking of starting afresh down under, here’s where you should be looking.
Northbridge
On the edge of the central business district (CBD), this was once a down-at-heel backpacker party zone on the wrong side of the railway tracks. But the rail line has been buried as part of the City Link regeneration scheme, joining the area to Yagan Square, a new local hub with food markets, pop-ups, cafes and restaurants. Newly hip Northbridge is packed with bars and boutiques, and would suit singletons or anyone craving a buzzy urban vibe.
Blocks of flats are springing up, too. The pick of the bunch is Vélo, where the contemporary apartments have views of the city skyline from behind a sleek geometric facade. The kitchens are high-spec, the parking is secure and some flats have “winter balconies”, with full-height glazing so you can sit out on cooler days. A cafe-bar injects Northbridge buzz into the building. One-bedroom flats start at $390,000 (00 61 4 8808 0862, velobybaltinas.com).
Scarborough
About 15 minutes’ drive northwest of the CBD, Scarborough is set to become Perth’s hottest coastal suburb next year, when the redevelopment of the seafront should be finished. A new beach pool, skate park and surf club will make this community even more appealing to families — prices are sure to rise, with agents already reporting an increase in buyer activity.
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A four-bedroom house with a garden and a pool, not too far from the beach, will likely set you back $1m or more.
Leederville
This small but cool suburb is just 3km from the city centre. The “Leederville strip”, on Oxford Street, is packed with quirky cafes and restaurants; regular new openings keep things fresh. The area has a young population, mainly couples and families just starting out, but some of the houses have period panache.
A four-bedroom 1920s cottage on Bourke Street, just a few blocks from the strip, is on the market for $950,000. It has stained-glass panels above the doorways, fireplaces in two of the bedrooms, a kitchen with white-painted brick walls, a carport at the front and a small but mature garden with an outdoor dining space (00 61 4 0311 4074, acton.com.au).
Fremantle
Once a Victorian port city, now the cradle of much of Perth’s alternative culture, Fremantle (or “Freo” to its fans) is a dynamic city in its own right, with a “cappuccino strip” of cafes and bars, as well as plenty of boutiques and galleries. Despite its separate character, it’s just 15km and an easy 30-minute train ride from the CBD. There are great beaches here, too, and it sits on the mouth of the Swan River, so many homes have water views.
The median property price in Fremantle is $725,000, and four-bedroom houses typically sell for $925,000. The more characterful properties include workers’ cottages and large brick Victorian houses. In East Fremantle, a bit further from the sea, you could buy a two-bedroom penthouse flat with views of the river for $599,000.
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Kallaroo
Commuters in the know are heading for this coastal suburb, part of Joondalup, 22km north of Perth. But it’s not as far as it seems: Whitfords railway station is a 10-minute drive away, and trains take just 20 minutes to reach Perth city centre. As well as the beach, there are several parks and top-performing schools.
As for property, Kallaroo was recently named Perth’s best-performing suburb by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, which recorded an 18% rise in the median sale price in the area in the year to December 2016.
Four-bedroom homes start at just $700,000 here, if you’re happy to buy a doer-upper. Those who would prefer a new-build or a house that has already been renovated can expect to pay closer to $1m.
A modern four-bedroom house in Clifton Gardens, with ocean views, a pool and a spa, is on sale for $1.025m.
Properties for sale
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East Fremantle $599,000
It’s a bit of a way from the nearest beach, but this two-bedroom corner penthouse has full-on views of the Swan River. The living area opens onto a north-facing balcony, ideal for soaking up the sun, and the large windows let in plenty of light. Glossy wood floors and chandeliers add a touch of glamour. The building is on the corner of East and George Streets, close to good restaurants and cafes. 00 61 8 9386 8800, porteous.com.au
Kallaroo $1.025m
This is the Australia that lures expats: a four-bedroom house, a three-minute walk from the beach, with a solar-heated saltwater pool, an underground spa, large balconies with ocean views, tropical gardens with a rock waterfall and an outdoor entertaining space. Inside, it has an open-plan living and dining area, a games room with a bar and a master suite with a home office. There’s air-con, too, for Poms who can’t take the heat. 00 61 8 93 070999, whitfords.realmark.com.au