What’s the market doing? Swanbourne Focus
The secret is out on Swanbourne! The humble little suburb that has been hiding in plain sight is now firmly in the sights of savvy, family home, buyers who see the extraordinary value that this tightly held (ocean-side and lake-side) precinct offers.
The most telling statistic that shows the secret is out, is the Swanbourne median house price nearly doubled from January 2021 to now, up 90% from $1.5m to $2.85m. When compared to the median house price in Cottesloe that’s sitting at $3.535m and grew by 57% in the same period. What’s remarkable is that even with the growth, there is still significant value left in Swanbourne. And upon a quick reflection it’s quite easy to understand why.
Cottesloe is one of the most sought-after suburbs in Australia, it is an aspirational suburb and demand is high and there is a ‘premium’ for properties in Cottesloe, what some people refer to as the ‘Cottesloe Tax’. This has created a ripple effect where buyers are reconsidering the price commitment needed to buy into Cottesloe and as a result look to the neighbouring suburbs such as Swanbourne, North Fremantle and Mosman Park. And although they are ‘neighbouring’ they still offer the same amenity and wonderful coastal (and river) lifestyle – and at worst case, are maybe another minute or two (in the car) to get to the beach.
The latest RealEstate.com statistics, show there were 161,291 buyer searches for Cottesloe property in December last year and 108,457 buyer searches for Swanbourne property. This statistic is more significant when you consider that Swanbourne has about half the properties as Cottesloe, so there are more buyers per property in Swanbourne than Cottesloe.
The evolution of the Swanbourne market is clearly seen when breaking the market activity down into price segments. In the year ending January 2021 there were no sales over $3m and 53 sales in the $1 to $2m range. Fast forward to January 2025 and there were just 13 sales in the $1-2m range and 28 sales in the $3m+ range. This highlights the steady growth in the suburb.
Now what’s not shown in these statistics is the type of homes, land size, views, location or proximity to amenity. Generally, in Swanbourne, you get more land, more home, beautiful character homes, some oceans views, and a lot of park and lake views, but most noticeable is the family demographic of residents. So many kids playing out the front, riding around on their bikes with their friends at the parks – it’s the calm, community, family feel that is the most attractive thing about the suburb – and it’s only moments to the beach for an early morning swim and coffee.
And of course it’s worth noting that Swanbourne actually has one of the most premium and sort after pockets of coastal real estate in Western Australia. I sold a property on Odern Crescent that set a WA land sale record at over $15,000sqm.
Justin Davies