Property developer Edge Visionary Living has tapped into an appetite for larger apartments in Perth’s established suburbs, with its Eden Floreat project achieving close to $30 million in sales ahead of the official launch last weekend, according to managing director Gavin Hawkins.
Mr Hawkins said this represented around 25 per cent of the project’s first stage, West Eden, comprising 98 apartments over five storeys planned to be completed by the end of 2019.
“We had 55 appointments through within a week and a half of having the sales suite on site,” he said.
Mr Hawkins said the West Eden result backed up strong recent interest in the Botanical Apartments in Subiaco, which reached pre-sale levels in six months.
“This far exceeds the demand at the Botanical pre-launch, and we learnt a lot from that project in terms of the appetite for larger, spacious apartments,” he said.
The $160 million development in Perry Lakes will include an additional 64 apartments, part of the four-storey East Eden building, as well as a dozen townhouses.
Mr Hawkins said about 75 per cent of the reserve sales had been for three-bedroom apartments, and the group had already sold one of its three penthouse apartments valued at $2.6 million.
Apartments of three or more bedrooms comprised nearly half the stock across both buildings, while two-bedroom apartments represented 35 per cent and one-bedroom apartments the remainder.
Mr Hawkins said inquiry to this point had come entirely from owner-occupiers, who were predominately downsizers or empty nesters. However, the development’s proximity to several western suburbs schools had also attracted a significant number of families with teenagers.
“It’s been interesting seeing families coming through, with kids in high school, thinking about apartment living, which I think shows the maturing of and acceptance that Perth’s apartment market is coming of age,” he said.
“I don’t think you would have seen that five to 10 years ago.
“This product is something I think the Perth property and apartment market needs for people looking at alternatives for retirement villages and downsizing.
“And we think it’s the best apartment location in Perth; three kilometres from the beach, a short trip to the city and its overlooking the lake with 430 hectares of bushland at your front door.”
Mr Hawkins said Edge had purchased the premium site at Perry Lakes, with only one other significant apartment development, TRG’s The Empire, within the estate.
He believes apartments being developed at the nearby Claremont on the Park project would likely appeal to a different cohort, particularly with regard to proximity to the train line.
Edge director and architect, David Hillam, said Eden’s apartments were 30 per cent larger on average than other apartments in the market; the majority of Eden’s two-bedroom residences average 100 square metres and those with three beds 188sqm.
Amenities at Eden Floreat will include a 25-metre lap pool, three dining areas, a sunset deck, games and theatre room, communal library, and an herb and orchard garden.
“Some families with teenagers tire of the 800 to 1,000 square metre block,” Mr Hillam said.
“We’ve always done amenity areas, but this has also increased both in size and quality.
“We want people to feel they can entertain guests in the same manner as they could in their house; they have the options of booking our lounge dining rooms so they can have 30 or 40 people over.
“To encourage people to move out of their house, they need a compelling reason to do so.”
