Bargain alert: The areas where house prices up 40 per cent, but still less than $500k

Perth house prices may be booming – with some suburbs up by a massive 40 per cent over the past 12 months alone – but it’s still possible to find houses here for well under $500,000.

Perth continues to be an interstate investor hotspot with high rental yields, high price growth and low property prices, and many investors are buying large blocks of land to redevelop, especially in the city’s south-east.

In Armadale and Camillo, 20 kilometres south-east of Perth’s CBD, the median house price grew by nearly 40 per cent in the past year, but remains under $500,000, well below the national median of $1.15 million.

“[In Armadale] many properties have a price point below $600,000, so eastern-state buyers are flocking in for the price and because of the rental yield,” says local agent Kentic Lim of Realth Property Group. 

Now could be an opportune time to get into the market, despite the boom conditions, he adds.

While there has been a significant influx of interstate investors, Lim says the area market has begun to “tone itself down”.

“Right now, we are in a very weird transition period because the rental market has dropped quite significantly,” he says. “Like, you’re getting a lot less people coming through home opens.”

Interstate investors are also starting to slow down.

“Obviously, in some areas, you will still get a lot of demand, but I would say it’s not as hot as it was earlier this year,” Lim says. “The supply of properties is gradually increasing.

“We are selling a [three-bedroom, two-bathroom house] which was built in 2019. You can get that for early $500,000, but the rental you’re getting on that is about $600 a week.” 

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1/53 Little John Road, Armadale WA 6112

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Amadale’s median house price grew by 38.5 per cent to $450,000 over the past year, while the median weekly rent is $520. It has a median rental yield of 5.98 per cent, according to Domain’s 2024 June quarter data.

“I don’t know if you could find a house for $450,000 now,” says local agent Rod Dohnt of @realty. “I’ve just sold one there that was just over the $500,000 mark, and that was a pretty average house.”

While most of Armadale’s buyers are owner-occupiers, Dohnt says there is still strong interest from eastern state investors wanting to take advantage of its affordable prices when compared to surrounding suburbs.

Some of those suburbs include Haynes (with a median house price of $605,000), Seville Grove ($560,000), Mount Nasura ($629,000) and Harrisdale ($704,678).

SOLD - $545,000

6 Cobar Street, Armadale WA 6112

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The completion of new infrastructure and development may be another factor in Armadale’s price growth, Dohnt says.

“They’ve got the new Metronet … there is a big redevelopment of the city centre. It’s got a fair few things going for it,” he says.

Right now, there is a big crowd of investors buying, but Lim says there are still plenty of locals purchasing property.

“It’s not a pure investment type suburb,” he says. “There are a few people who are renting right now and looking into the option of buying.

“You’ve got those smaller, subdivided blocks, three-bedroom, two-bathrooms on 200 square metres – those type of properties. You get a lot of owner-occupiers, but at the same time, the bigger blocks – 2000, 3000 and 4000-square-metre blocks – which have an old house are purely investors.”

SOLD - $575,000

29 Westfield Road, Camillo WA 6111

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Camillo, just a stone’s throw away from Armadale, has a similar story of price rises due to interstate investors buying large chunks of land to later develop into multiple properties, says local agent Louise Smith of Harcourts Home Real Estate.

“We are getting some owner-occupiers, but more so investors,” she says. “[Camillo] seems quite favourable for investors, especially from over east.”

The suburb’s median house price grew by 38 per cent to $490,000 over the past year. Its median weekly rent is $550, and it has a median rental yield of 5.96 per cent, according to Domain data. 

“[Investors] are looking for rental potential, like getting a good rental yield and [in Camillo] there’s the possibility of subdividing down the track,” Smith says.

With a $490,000 budget, it’s possible to find a two or three-bedroom home that might need some renovation, she says.

From $629,000

37 Fifth Road, Armadale WA 6112

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