Perth's luxury property draws wealthy Singaporean investors

Education is the main driver for most relocating to the Australian city.

Perth is becoming a preferred base for wealthy Singaporean families drawn by quality education, market players said.

“We have fantastic schools, high schools, private schools, and also universities. That's bringing a lot of Singaporean buyers down to Perth, Australia, to look for high-quality luxury properties,” Travis Coleman, head of Western Australia, at Belle Property, told Real Estate Asia on the sidelines of the Global Property Expo held in Singapore from 18 to 20 July.

“We're seeing a strong level of demand, and they are purchasing those properties based on those requirements,” Coleman added.

In Perth, Singaporeans can purchase a property for about the same price as a car back home, according to Brent Griffiths, director of Sales, at Belle Property.

“An entry-level property in Western Australia might cost around US$600,000, roughly the same amount Singaporeans would spend on a leasehold condominium back home,” Griffiths, who also participated in the Global Property Expo, told Real Estate Asia.

City Beach, Dalkeith, Claremont, and Nedlands offer the best opportunities for wealthy Singaporean families, Coleman said, citing their access to leading schools and universities and strong value for money.

Griffiths said Perth’s value extends beyond its schools, pointing to its spacious urban sprawl and affordable access to the coast.

“People wanting to live in the ocean or having those types of locations that are near good schools, good infrastructure, basically city fringe locations, you're really going to get some really good bang for buck [in Perth],” Griffiths said.

Singaporean buyers aren’t the only ones who can benefit from entering the Western Australia market, Griffiths said, adding that Southeast Asian buyers, particularly from Malaysia, also stand to gain.

Malaysian investors, he said, could potentially earn steady returns of 6% to 8% from luxury properties in Western Australia.