Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2013 | Page 132

PROPERTY

Property issues with Richard Dickson of Hose Rhodes & Dickson

There's no place like home
Having spent a truly memorable
Christmas with my eldest son and
family in Perth, Western Australia,
I am surprised to admit it's good to
be back home.
I would be the first to admit
that my experience in world travel
is somewhat limited, but I am
confident in saying Perth must be
one of the finest places in the world
to live.
The climate is described as
Mediterranean, but 40 degrees plus
in the shade is difficult to enjoy.
The city sits on the Swan River and
fronts the Indian Ocean, which gives
this vibrant bustling city an air of
tranquillity. It also has the enormous
advantage of having miles of amazing
beaches with fine golden sand and
clear blue water. Whilst enjoying these
fantastic beaches I actually found
myself comparing them to Priory Bay,
Steephill Cove and Compton, all of
which, in their own modest ways, offer
equal enjoyment apart of course from
our unpredictable cooler climate.
Perth’s skyline and business
architecture are dramatic and there
are lovely parks and landscaped
open spaces throughout the whole
metropolitan area. In the Swan Valley
there are some of the finest wineries
in Australia and there is no shortage
of small world class breweries. I can
hear you saying it sounds like paradise,
what more can you want?
Without being over critical, I found
most of the residential areas in the
suburbs somewhat disappointing.
Much of the new development has
been created on large residential
estates, predominantly of bungalows,
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with roads constructed on a square
grid system.
I found it surprising that with so
much land potentially available on
which to build, plots seem relatively
small and the style of development
unimaginative, especially as one has
a blank canvas. Plot sizes on the
estates mostly range from 350 to
600 square metres, which equates
to 10-12 units to the acre. These
building plots sell for circa £200,000
to £400,000 and the finished
property anything from £300,000.
As ever, the price seems to be
dictated by location and the further
away from the city the cheaper the
property. What I found to be most
incongruous was the extensive