WA Scarborough - Perths version of Bondi?

A little media clip about Scarborough, WA. A bit over Hyped and please don't get me wrong - I do not follow media when purchasing property. Interesting concept though.

Scarborough to be 'Australia's best beach'

What is every bodies thought on the future of property/property prices in Scarborough? Ive been keeping an eye on the area for several months and it seems a lot of blocks are being subdivided now, a lot selling around the 200m2 size but still a few what seems to be not too badder buys with the odd street frontage 390+m2 property coming available for the $550-$650k mark only 1-2km from the beach.

Is the lifestyle drivers that are going to be there in the coming 12 months going to be enough to boost property prices? Or will it be simply more attractive to younger generation who can not afford to live there anyway? Will Mum and Dads prefer to stay back a little around the Doubleview/Karrinyup area and purchase something a little bigger?

Public transport to Scarborough isn't the best and driving into the city in peak traffic is still going to take 45 minutes.

I would be buying to live in for a while aiming to get something that needs a good renovation or something that will likely be re zoned in the coming years to put a duplex on. I feel the more development that happens, the less there will be street frontage, green title houses which should increase prices within this kind of product.

Would love to hear others opinions

Scott

 

Maybe Scarborough is more like Coogee.

 

Good spot to buy in though. Awesome beach.

 

Given it's history, I was thinking it's more like Cronulla.

 

I bought there in 2012, sold in 2014 with a 20% profit. prices have come back a good 10% since then (the previous owner purchased in 2009 for about what it would be worth today). Even back in 2012 there was massive amounts of subdivisions going on. Lots of multi-resi developments of 8 units on a block (especially near doubleview/innaloo) got through just before the council stopped approving multi-resi on R40. Now days theyre more grouped dwelling townhouses than multi-resi apartments, but a quick look on google maps shows that land is drying up.

When i was there i saw lots of young families moving in, downsizing from suburban yards to townhouses. But it was just too quiet back in 2014, 3 choices of coffee and one choice for beers. 2014 to now it has really started to come alive. the redevelopment of the west facing street level of Observation City brought new food and drinks venues, and the full redevelopment i have no doubt will really turn up the heat. Personally i would be staying away from apartments for now as many views will be built out and the apartment market will be flooded. I think there are some great buys right now in anything that has a decent outdoor entertainment area, walking distance to the beach and parking for 2 cars. these are features that will be increasingly harder to come by.

I left Scarborough for Highgate, entertainment venues aside the Achilles heel for me was transport to the CBD for work. The bus wasn't frequent enough so generally i would drive to Stirling, pay $2 to park and then a train fare both ways. that quite fast added up to $60/week on transport (inc. fuel costs etc) and a lot of time travelling. In Highgate I had Northbridge, Mount Lawley, and CBD entertainment on my doorstep and 5 minute work commute on my bike. I missed evening runs along the beach, but traded that for loops around the river.