Perth, West Australia, Real Estate

as posted on PerthNow

IT may have copped a bad rap over the years, but if you speak to local agents and residents, they'll tell you that Beckenham has lots to offer.
Porter Matthews Metro marketing consultant Hasi Kodagoda knows the suburb well and believes recent changes in Beckenham are immediately obvious.

"When you walk the streets, you notice that the area has improved dramatically over the past few years,'' he said.

"The streets are tree-lined, the gardens are always neat and tidy and the people are very, very friendly.

"Many (people) who live in Beckenham have been there about 30 to 40 years, so they genuinely care about where they live. They take great pride in the suburb.''

Beckenham is about 13km from the CBD and a five-minute drive from Carousel shopping centre. The suburb has a shopping complex with an IGA, video store, fish and chip shop and liquor store.

Recreational facilities are also good in the area.

"For the older guys there is a recreation centre,'' Mr Kodagoda said. "The Mills Park Bowling Club operates (at Mills Park) and there are dancing classes.

"For the younger guys, there are footy and cricket clubs.''

The suburb is also only a 10-minute drive from the airport and has excellent public transport services.

"Beckenham train station is just off William St and for most residents is about two minutes (away) by car,'' he said.

"There is also a local bus route in and out of the suburb regularly and it goes to the Cannington train station.''

Many home buyers in Beckenham are aged 25-35. They are mostly professionals and investors and are buying in the area because of the rezoning that's on the horizon.

"The rezoning, called the Local Housing Strategy, is being implemented by the City of Gosnells,'' he said.

"In areas closer to the railway station they'll be increasing the density to an R6 zoning, and then near the local Beckenham shop, they are again increasing the density.''

He believed rezoning would take place in the next two to four years.

Blocks in Beckenham range from 700sq m to 800sq m. House styles are diverse and include heritage-listed, colonial-style homesteads and 1930s-built farmhouses.

But according to Mr Kodagoda, most of the houses were built in the second half of last century.

"The homes are very structurally sound,'' he said. "Most were built between 1960 and 1975, and they're mostly federation brick-and-tile, three-bedroom, one-bathroom homes. They have about 100sq m to 120sq m of living space and there are a lot of people renovating.''

Development was also taking place in the suburb, he said.

Residential projects had started, including the recently completed 22-unit development on Campberwell St and a 11-unit site on Albany Highway.

The Campberwell St units have three bedrooms and two bathrooms and sold for about $340,000 each. All the units in the Albany Highway development sold off the plan.

East Cannington and Queens Park border Beckenham heading towards the city and Kenwick borders it heading out. Wattle Grove is to the east and Langford is to the west.

Mr Kodagoda runs free seminars to educate locals on developments and changes that affect real estate in the area.

The last seminar discussed rezoning. His next seminar, expected to be held next month, will focus on selling property in a changing market.


as posted on PerthNow