- Given its coastal location, Scarborough is a popular suburb
- Although mostly residential, it is known for its entertainment precinct and the 24-floor Rendezvous Observation City
- House prices have risen by 13.1% over the past year
Located in Perth’s north, and home to one of the most iconic beaches in WA, Scarborough is a popular and desirable coastal suburb.
Scarborough has a population of 15,467 and is around 12 kilometres from Perth.
The suburb spans five square kilometres and is predominantly used for residential purposes, although Scarborough is well known for its entertainment precinct, which surrounds the Rendezvous Observation City.
This 24-level hotel development was controversially built in 1986 by Alan Bond in anticipation of the 1987 America’s Cup, which was held in Fremantle.
A recent addition to the area was the Scarborough Beach Pool, which opened in 2019.
Strong growth
According to Landgate and reiwa.com data, the suburb has experienced sales growth of 13.1% during the 12 months ending October 2022, with a median house price of $915,000. Rent prices have increased by 19.8% to a median of $677 per week.
This sales growth is similar to neighbouring suburbs; City Beach has recorded sale price growth of 11.4% and Karrinyup 15.4%, the latter home to a recently revamped shopping centre, now the largest in Perth.
More specifically, the median sale price for a two-bedroom house was $858,000, $880,000 for a three-bedroom house and $1.2 million for a four-bedroom house.
In the unit market, the median sale price was $540,000. For one-bedroom units this was $326,000, $485,000 for two-bedroom and $679,000 for three-bedrooms.
For rental units, the median rent was $500 per week, with $390 for one-bedroom units, $467 per week for two bedrooms and $610 per week for three bedrooms.
In the land market, the median was $620,000, ranging from $585,000 median for small land and $1.36 million for large land.
Houses are typically on the market for 17 days, with this increasing to 21 days for units.
According to realestate.com.au, 75 houses in Scarborough were available over the past month. 197 houses have been sold in the past 12 months.
For units, 130 have been available on the platform, with 356 sold over the past 12 months.
Despite the high growth rate in Scarborough – the 13.1% growth rate is significantly higher than 2.8% for Greater Perth – the five-year growth rate is just 3.9% for Scarborough and 1.3% for Perth. Over 10 years, the growth rate for Scarborough is 2.3%, while for Perth it is 1.3%.
Based on reiwa.com user activity data, properties for sale in Scarborough on average receive 153 online views, a little bit above the Perth average of 141.
6019 (inc. Scarborough, Wembley Downs)
[Select part of the chart to zoom in on various years, and ‘reset zoom’ button to return]
SQM Research data shows that for the 6019 postcode – which includes both Scarborough and Wembley Downs – weekly asking prices for houses is hovering just under the $1 million mark as of November. For units, it is above $500,000.
6019 (inc. Scarborough, Wembley Downs)
[Select part of the chart to zoom in on various years, and ‘reset zoom’ button to return]
SQM Research data shows the vacancy rate is just 0.3%, representing 11 vacancies available. In November 2012, it reached 0.2%.
6019 (inc. Scarborough, Wembley Downs)
[Select part of the chart to zoom in on various years, and ‘reset zoom’ button to return]
Although gross rental yields for houses has declined since 2021, the gross rental yield for units has increased, a trend which has been occurring since 2018.
Demographics
Given the lifestyle location of Scarborough, 41.1% of dwellings are currently rented. Just under a quarter (24.9%) are fully owned with the rest under a mortgage, excluding some public housing.
More than half of properties are duplexes or villas (50.5%) with over a third (36.3%) houses and apartments making up the balance (13.2%).
In terms of demographics, the most common types of households are couples without children (39.4%) followed by couple families with children (20.8%).
There are many government primary schools in the area including Scarborough Primary School, Deanmore Primary School, Doubleview Primary School and Wembley Downs Primary School.
Depending on where you are located in the suburb, Churchlands Senior High School and Carine Senior High School intake from Scarborough.
In terms of non-government schools, Scarborough is near the International School of Western Australia, St Mary’s Anglican Girls School and Our Lady of Good Counsel School.
