20 Perth Suburbs Grow By 10% Or More This Year

As an indication of just how hot the property market is right now across Australia’s capitals; 20 Perth suburbs have recorded a median house sale price growth of 10% or more in 2021.

According to Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) President Damian Collins, those figures have met or surpassed forecasting for 15% price growth in Perth by the end of the 2021 calendar year.

“A total of 20 suburbs have seen their median house sale price increase by 10 per cent or more since the start of the year.

“Bicton has experienced the strongest price growth in the first four months of the year, with its median house price increasing 20 per cent to $1.14 million between 31 December 2020 and 30 April 2021. This was followed by North Beach (up 17 per cent to $1.05 million), Sorrento (up 16 per cent to $1.118 million), and Applecross (up 15 per cent to $1.79 million),” Mr Collins said.

The data, courtesy of reiwa.com, reveals that growth suburbs come from both sides of the curve with nine suburbs beneath Perth median house sale price of $508,000 and 11 above – eight of those in the $1 million-plus price range.

“The recovery of the market is widespread across Greater Perth. Six to eight months ago it was mainly the higher end of the market showing strong growth, but now we are seeing movement across the board,” Mr Collins said.

See the full list of suburbs below:

SUBURB	MEDIAN HOUSE SALE PRICE DEC 2020	MEDIAN HOUSE SALE PRICE APR 2021	PERCENTAGE CHANGE
1. Bicton	$950,000	$1.14 million	20%
2. North Beach	$900,000	$1.05 million	17%
3. Sorrento	$960,000	$1.118 million	16%
4. Applecross	$1.56 million	$1.79 million	15%
5. Claremont	$1.503 million	$1.7 million	13%
6. Medina	$230,000	$260,000	13%
7. Maddington	$283,500	$320,000	13%
8. Palmyra	$635,000	$715,000	13%
9. Coodanup	$292,550	$329,000	12%
10. Attadale	$1.165 million	$1.3 million	12%
11. Parmelia	$247,000	$275,000	11%
12. City Beach	$1.8 million	$2 million	11%
13. Wembley Downs	$975,000	$1.08 million	11%
14. Como	$850,000	$940,000	11%
15. Darlington	$620,000	$685,000	10%
16. Orelia	$240,000	$265,000	10%
17. Redcliffe	$399,000	$440,000	10%
18. Bertram	$335,000	$369,000	10%
19. Brookdale	$252,000	$277,500	10%
20. Girrawheen	$300,000	$330,000	10%

For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.

The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.

So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.

Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the house has matching mahogany paneling and limestone both inside and out. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The dining room is between an outdoor garden and the staircase. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.

Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.

The kitchen and family room open to the garden and pool. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Cast alcoves and mahogany shelves house the couple’s books and ceramics. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.

A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”

Ehrlich said it took a few tries to get the concrete wall right. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

‘It’s a really hard material to tame,’ Ehrlich said of concrete. Workers learned as they went, and Waldfogel and Helyn grew to appreciate the imperfect material. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

A central staircase is housed in a glass tower. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.

Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Two wings of the house are connected by horizontal planes. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.

Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.

20 Perth Suburbs Grow By 10% Or More This Year

The western capital’s property market is on its way to recovery.

A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.