Seven Perth suburbs fall off rich list

The high end of Perth's property market has taken a battering from the global slowdown with seven metropolitan suburbs dropping out of the $1 million club, a new survey has found.

New research from RP Data also found that in the year to February, WA recorded four of the largest falls in median house prices with homes in Ardross losing over 26 per cent of their value to record a price of $772,500, down from $1.05 million.

Other suburbs to fall out of the million dollar club were South Fremantle, down 24.8 per cent to a median price of $797,500 and home values in Rossmoyne dropped 20.6 per cent to $815,000.

Median house prices in Shelley lost 18.9 per cent to $835,000, Sorrento suffered a 17.9 per cent fall to $870,000 and Shenton Park fell 11.2 per cent to $945,500.

RP Data said the median price of units in Cottesloe fell 23.5 per cent to $785,000, but it did not disclose an updated figure for house prices.

RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said the fall in Perth home values could be linked to the slowing down of the state's mining sector.

"We have seen some job losses in that sector and a lot of the contracts are coming up for renewal and with metal prices set to come down a bit, people are bracing themselves," he said.

However as seven Perth suburbs dropped out of the list, one suburb made its way into the million dollar club.

Menora recorded a median house value growth of 8.4 per cent from $989,500 to $1.07 million.

Nationally, the number of million-dollar suburbs slipped from 151 to 134, with NSW experiencing the greatest slump as eight of its suburbs dropped out of the list.

"With people's share portfolios having halved over the past 12 months, it's come time to sell those high-end houses, and not a lot of people are looking to spend $1 million on property at the moment," RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said.

"The people who do have that money to spend know that there is not a lot of people in that position so they can take their time and look around."

But as 28 suburbs nationwide fell off the rich list, 19 others moved up into the million-dollar bracket.

"If you look at some of those suburbs like Tennyson Point, Cheltenham, Bondi Junction (in NSW), they are relatively close to the city or near the water," Mr Kusher said.

In Queensland, the northern Brisbane suburb of Ascot had rejoined the list.

"In most of these areas, like Ascot, the money that people have tends to be 'old money', they have substantiated wealth and live in established, premium areas, whereas the suburbs slipping from the list can typically be seen as more recently developed," he said.

The shift in property values was not typical of recessions, Mr Kusher said.

"The million-plus market is something that has been sheltered from economic downturns previously, the shift we've seen in the past 12 months is a real change," Mr Kusher said.