MANDURAH residential development Port Bouvard has continued its run of success, recently selling a penthouse apartment in its strata-titled mixed apartments and a retail development for a record price for the area.
The 350 square metre apartment was sold for an undisclosed figure, but Port Bouvard Limited managing director Ross Neumann said the sale price was well over $1.3 million.
The sale of the apartment takes the sales total for The Piazza development up to $7.5 million, with more than 90 per cent of the mixed-use development sold.
Mr Neumann said the market had softened with last year’s increase in interest rates but sales had begun to pick up recently.
“I think the penthouse sale shows that people still see great investment value in the property,” he said.
Over the past 12 months property values in the Mandurah region have increased by 25.4 per cent, with the median house price reaching $200,083.
MBA backs duty change calls
MASTER Builders Australia, the peak natinoal body for the building and construction industry, has joined other industry groups in calling for changes to State stamp duty arrangements.
MBA executive director Wilhelm Harnisch said stamp duty was an inefficient tax that added directly to the price of houses and made it more difficult for first home buyers to purchase a home.
Mr Harnisch said that while stamp duty might be only a small fraction of the total price of a house, it could be a significant proportion of the initial funds needed to enter into home ownership.
“Stamp duties are also inefficient in that they are a transaction tax and reduce the turnover of housing, resulting in inefficient use of the current housing stock,” he said.