Homeowners of Mandurah can sleep a little easier at night knowing their property values are on the rise again.
After the heady days of the 1990s up until 2012 when Mandurah was touted as one of the fastest growing centres in the country, the market came back down to earth.
But the city's house prices have seen a significant rise again in the past 12 months, with Coodanup topping the list.
In fact, the suburb has seen the second largest growth of anywhere in WA, recording a 28.7 per cent increase in median house price.
And the boom isn't confined to just that one suburb, according to local real estate agents.
When asked about specific hotspots, Harcourts Mandurah agent Ben Hatch said, "Everywhere! From Halls Head to Coodanup, everything's hot".
"We had five home opens around Mandurah on the weekend, and from that we got 12 offers across the five properties, all over asking price."
This was echoed by ACTON Mandurah principal Graeme Baxter who said two of his agents held a home open in Halls Head last week to which more than 50 people showed up.
"Of course, due to COVID-19 restrictions people couldn't all view at once, but it shows the demand that's out there. The home was in the mid-$400,000 range," he said.
Mr Baxter said prices were predicted to increase between 8-10 per cent in the next 12 months, but he felt that was conservative.
"I predict they'll go north of 10 per cent. Demand is through the roof. The number of sales being generated is huge and is certainly putting pressure on prices.
"Anyone in the market to buy is advised to act now before prices go even higher," he said.
From Halls Head to Coodanup, everything's hot.
- Ben Hatch
According to Mr Baxter, the run on land sales generated by last year's government incentive of the Building Bonus had quietened.
"There was huge demand, but that's moved away from land to established houses now," he said.
However, Harcourts said the slowing down in land sales before Christmas had picked up again.
"Because of the influx of buyers taking advantage of the government incentives there were no builders available to build, but since January we've seen an increase again," Mr Hatch said.
This is despite building prices going up by about 20 per cent in the past 12 months.
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Surprisingly, it's not only entry level and mid-range houses that are being snapped up.
"All of our top end from $1.5millon to $4.25m have seen an increase in demand," Mr Hatch said.
"We had a property launched on the weekend priced at over $1.59m that sold within five days for over asking price. It sold to a Perth businessperson as a holiday home."
This also appears as part of the trend. With WA currently being a relatively safe part of the world, business confidence is increasing and many homes are being snapped up by businesspeople, both from Perth and further afield.
The rise in business confidence has also seen commercial and retail properties selling better, with more people interested in starting their own businesses post-lockdown.
While Mr Hatch himself doesn't deal in commercial real estate, he said a number of his clients had been looking for commercial property.
"I've noticed a lot of places under offer since January," he said. "There's a lot more activity and I think people are looking at transitioning back into business, possibly because WA is a bit of a safe haven with COVID-19 - there's confidence now.
"A big portion of commercial property over east is still utilising governmental support, unlike WA."
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About 32 per cent of mortgages in the eastern states had also been paused, compared to just six per cent in WA.
Mandurah H&N Perry Real Estate sales director Frank Lawrence agreed that those coming into the commercial market after lockdown had confidence.
"We were locked up for a few months and the state was brought to a standstill - when people came out after that they came out with confidence," he said.
"There were people looking to start their own business to give themselves employment in Mandurah - there has also been relocation of businesses from other areas to expand into Mandurah."