Professionals Real Estate 
During the winter months which are traditionally cooler, more people from Perth tend to purchase holiday or investment homes in regional Western Australia according to Shane Kempton, CEO of Professionals in Western Australia.
According to Mr Kempton, house prices in a range of regional centres throughout Western Australia are currently very competitive.
“In regional towns such as Wagin, the median house pride is just $128,750 while in Merredin it is only $155,000. In other regional towns such as Kambalda West, you can buy a home for under $150,000. There are even some regional centres where you can buy a home for under $100,000 such as Kellerberrin ($85,000) and Dowerin for $86,000. Regional towns can also offer potential for capital growth with the median price of a home in Mt Barker rising by 14.3% over the past year to $235,000.”
“With a general improvement in the Perth real estate market during the last two years, there will be growing interest from property owners in Perth who are consider buying a second property in regional Western Australia for lifestyle or investment reasons. This is particularly the case with baby boomers who have large amounts of equity in their existing property to help fund the purchase of a second property in regional Western Australia. Anyone who is considering buying a second home in regional Western Australia should take into account the longer term capital growth of the property because they are not only buying a lifestyle but also a major financial asset that can appreciate or even depreciate in value depending on the location. Many people make the mistake of buying a regional home on emotional reasons without using the same criteria that would apply if they were buying an investment property or an owner occupier home. It would be a major financial headache to purchase a home in regional Western Australia only to find that it has fallen in value if the buyer was forced to sell the property after a few years.”
“There are a number of key issues which property buyers should consider before buying a regional property. Basically, the fundamental drivers of property values in regional Western Australia do not differ significantly from the Perth metropolitan area. Firstly they should consider is the longer term demand for property in the area because buying a property should be a long term commitment. The longer term prospects for a specific regional property market will be determined by issues such as population growth and business investment leading to job creation. For example, strong population growth and job creation in the South-West of the State has resulted in sustained rises in property values in many regional centres especially in coastal areas. However, in other regional centres, population and job growth can be more sporadic. Some regional areas such as the Wheatbelt have experienced major upturns and downturns in economic conditions which have impacted on the local real estate market. You should consider buying a home near a regional centre that has a longer term established community with reasonable social infrastructure and good prospects for population growth.”
“Another key issue to consider is the local rental market because you may need income to fund the regional home when you do not use it. In prime markets such as the South West, one option would be to rent the property during peak periods ( i.e school holiday periods) and retain the property for personal use during off peak periods,” he said.
Hobby farm tips
If you buying land in regional Western Australia to build a home, a key issue to consider is provision of services. Many people who buy a clear block of land in the country underestimate how much it can cost to have electricity connected to the home. A block which does not have any electricity provision within a close proximity can prove very costly over the long term even it is heavily discounted. Water is another issue that can impact on the value of the land. Properties that have water connected from Water Corporation are generally more attractive to buyers and attract a higher resale price than properties that do not have any on site water supply. However, if the property has a bore than can provide good quality drinking water, this asset will underpin the land value of the property.
