Lots going on in WA’s Rockingham

The highly coveted report combined the insights of a 14-strong investment expert panel and open-source data about local housing performance to highlight 50 of the Australian suburbs showing the proper investment fundamentals that see them primed for plenty of future growth.

Rockingham joins nearby suburbs of Mandurah and Port Kennedy in this year’s FAST 50 list – pointing to the potential that exists across Perth’s southbound growth corridor.

Other nearby entrants include Orelia and Maddington, with a total of 15 Western Australian suburbs making the list, and really hitting home the opportunities for investors in the west.

Honing in on Rockingham, this year’s FAST 50 is not the only time the area has been lauded for what it offers to would-be buyers, investors and local residents alike.

The suburb was recently flagged as offering one of Perth region’s highest rental yields across the 2023 financial year when it came to units for lease.

The average rental return for the 12-month period for Rockingham unit owners was $440 per week – a yield of 7.5 per cent. That put Rockingham as the fourth-highest ranked suburb for FY23, beating out other contenders including Armadale, Shoalwater, Wembley, Midland and Belmont.

Rockingham was also praised for its unit rent price growth performance, with the suburb’s rental returns up 25.7 per cent over the previous year, and recording a median leasing period of less than 20 days on market.

Despite the recent price hikes, which come courtesy of rental vacancy rates being below 0.5 per cent, Rockingham is still offering residents a lot of bang for their back – especially for those people flocking west to escape the extortionate prices owners and renters are facing across the east coast of Australia.

CreditorWatch chief economist Anneke Thompson recently classified the Perth market (alongside Adelaide) as “more stable and cheaper” than its east coast capital counterparts, which holds the region in strong stead for the future.

In fact, Rockingham itself has seen gross regional product growth beyond what has been seen in Greater Perth, pointing to the hub of activity taking place in the area. From 2008 to 2018, Rockingham’s average annual gross regional product growth sat at 5.2 per cent, while Greater Perth achieved average annual gross regional product growth of just 4.2 per cent.

Located under 50 kilometres from the Perth CBD, Rockingham offers locals access to the West Australian capital in under an hour – just 40 minutes’ drive to be exact.

It’s also just a bus and a train ride away from all the amenities a major capital city has to offer, while also offering its own rapidly developing residential area, which is flanked by substantial industrial and commercial offerings, and bolstered by a local naval base.

The area’s future is bright, given the current work underway to review Rockingham’s strategic centre planning framework, which encompasses the area from Rockingham Train Station to the foreshore.

This has been bolstered by the Rockingham City Council’s efforts to improve transport in the area, with the Rockingham City Centre Transit System (RCCT), acknowledging above-average population growth in the area compared to Greater Perth.

Key developments are underway across Rockingham’s city centre, the Smart Village and the Waterfront Village across the suburb’s foreshore. According to the Rockingham City Council, there is the expectation of a $9.2 billion economic uplift long term, thanks to the implementation of the RCCT and the council’s vision.