City Beach: The prestigious Perth suburb seeing a rise in popularity and house price

Perth’s seaside suburb of City Beach has always been a popular holiday destination, with families flocking to its scenic shores, much like they do today.

But given its central location, natural beauty, and sense of open space, it seemed it was always destined to attract a more permanent and affluent crowd – those who wish to live virtually on the beach while deriving their incomes in the heart of the city, a mere 15-minute drive west.

Due to the large block sizes and aspirational nature of the community, according to Scott Swingler, sales representative at Space Real Estate, the housing styles in City Beach lean towards architect-designed homes on a family scale, most of which capitalise on the expansive Indian Ocean views.

“The privilege of living in, perhaps, Perth’s most spacious suburb, with approximately 50 per cent open space – made up of parks and gardens – and which is, paradoxically, the closest beachfront suburb to the city, is not lost on the locals,” says Swingler.

“This combination of wide-open space and easy access to all of Perth’s best amenities is the very allure of the City Beach lifestyle — an unexpected historical planning anomaly that has just created the most beautiful suburb.”

Swingler states with great confidence that the City Beach market is perennially safe and strong, a statement backed by Domain’s latest House Price Report that records the suburb’s median house price is $2.25 million, a 27.5 per cent increase year-on-year.

“The suburb has since caught the eye of successful leaders of varying industries – from politicians and professional athletes to medical professionals and mining executives – who live alongside the longtime residents who saw the suburb’s appeal decades ago,” Swingler notes.

“But no matter who, all are indistinguishable from one another on the street, when you bump into them with a beach towel over their shoulder, sharing that same relaxed, coastal glow.”

Among the many beachfront bars and cafes sprinkled along the City Beach waterfront, an architectural icon comes in the form of the local City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club, a building completed in June 2016, modelled on a container ship steaming out to sea.

“We are passionate about being a modern Surf Life Saving Club, with a goal to become part of the local community 12 months of the year, and led by the motto ‘One Club, One Community,’” says general manager Patrick Anderson Loake.

“To become active throughout the year, we investigated what was needed outside of the traditional Surf Life Saving services, which made way for our gym and function centre that operate both commercially and for community-specific programs.”

After moving from the United Kingdom 15 years ago at the age of 13, Loake’s family has happily lived in City Beach since touching down in Australia, participating in surf sports, volunteering at the club, and utterly relishing the quintessential coastal lifestyle.

“City Beach is a great place year-round, but late summers are my favourite, particularly when we are hosting Surf Life Saving events,” says Loake.

“I love to see boats and ironmen in the water, spectators on the beach, picnickers on the grassed areas, people swimming between the groynes, and volunteers keeping everyone safe. It’s truly a special place because of the people who gather here and the lifestyle that it elicits.”

One to watch

Located within South City Beach, this striking three-story residence is a bold architectural statement designed by David Hilliam, capturing dual views of the Indian Ocean to the west and virgin Bold Park bushland to the east.

Space Real Estate’s Scott Swingler is accepting expressions of interest with a guide of $8 million-$10 million.