Orelia: Southern Perth’s affordability haven

The report and ranking drew on the insights of a 14-strong investment expert panel and recent housing performance drawn from open source data, and aims to give unparalleled insight into the Australian suburbs which are set for future growth.

With winter’s stranglehold on Australian tightening with each passing day as temperatures drop and winds pick up to Arctic levels, Perth’s property market is showing no signs of cooling, with properties taking as little as 10 days to sell throughout June in the Western Australian capital as demand soars in line with a growing population.

Orelia, nearly 38 kilometres south of the city’s central business district, has exemplified this trend for longer than one month. According to data from CoreLogic, prices in the suburb rose 13.4 per cent over the 12 months to January, even as market conditions dragged national home values in the opposite direction over the course of 2022.

Despite this solid price growth, buyers wishing to enter the local housing market will need to part with around $338,000, a measly fee in comparison to other, more exorbitant prices charged elsewhere across the country. Such affordability meant Orelia ranked as the third cheapest market within SPI’s FAST 50 report, beaten to the top spot only by Armadale and Camillo, both suburbs in Western Australia.

A very clear divide exists between the suburbs’ eastern and western regions. Potential investors should not fret though, the division is sinister in nature. Orelia’s east is populated by newly built homes, while the opposite end of the region is littered with older, more established homes, highlighting the choice offered to those looking to buy into the region.

Even if the divide between Orelia and Perth’s central business district seems large, several transport links in nearby Kwinana as well as the suburbs’ proximity to both the Kwinana Freeway and Thomas Road provide seamless access into the heart of the state capital.

It’s position without the City of Kwinana’s borders means Orelia is set to reap the rewards of the council’s adopted local planning strategy – the Strategic Community Plan – which looks towards the future by considering and reviewing the region’s economic growth and employment, as well as community infrastructure and facilities, housing diversity and choice.

These actions have been undertaken with the view the region’s population is set to double between 2016 and 2036 before booming to 80,000 by 2050. As part of the plan, the local council is targeting a minimum of 41 dwellings per year for the next 33 years.

Orelia is also able to leverage Perth’s position as the worlds 12th most liveable city according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2023 Global Liveability Index.

To read more of SPI’s FAST 50 coverage, click here.