THE growing trend towards mega shopping centres in Perth is also leading to a major shift in housing demand, according to Geoff Baldwin Team managing director Geoff Baldwin.
He said that one of the biggest social changes in suburban Perth during the past decade had been the development and continued expansion of mega shopping centres to the detriment of smaller community shops.
“These mega shopping centres are now developing into a social hub with the combined developments of cinemas and restaurants,” Mr Baldwin said.
“As these huge shopping centres have grown, so too has the demand for housing in adjoining suburbs. This demand for housing has been driven by the large number of people now employed in these shopping centres together with the overall trend of people wanting to live in close proximity to them.
“As a result of this growing demand for homes near these mega shopping centres, house prices in nearby suburbs are beginning to rise strongly.
“Even suburbs such as Cannington which for many years only recorded stagnant price levels for homes, are now achieving price increases above the annual median price rise for the Perth metropolitan area, which was 5.6 per cent during 2000.”
