When my partner and I decided to buy our first Perth investment property at 23 and 22, everyone around us assumed we’d look closer to home. We live in Sydney. We know the suburbs. We have connections here. But after six months of research, we bought interstate — and it remains one of the best financial decisions we’ve ever made.
Here’s exactly why we chose Perth, what the numbers looked like, and what we’d tell any young Australian thinking about investing outside their home city.
Why We Couldn’t Buy in Sydney (And Why That’s Actually Fine)
Let’s be honest about the Sydney market. The median house price in Sydney sits north of $1.4 million. Even with a 10% deposit and lenders mortgage insurance, you’re looking at needing $140,000 just to get started — and that’s before stamp duty, legal fees, building inspections, and everything else that comes with a purchase.
At 23, saving $140,000 while paying Sydney rent isn’t just difficult. It’s a decade-long project for most people. For us, it simply wasn’t happening on the timeline we wanted.
But here’s the realisation that changed everything: you don’t have to buy where you live.
Once we accepted that, an entirely different set of markets opened up. We could look anywhere in Australia and ask the question that actually matters: where do the numbers make sense?
Why a Perth Investment Property Kept Coming Up in Our Research
We spent months looking at data across Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. What kept bringing us back to Perth was a combination of three things that are genuinely hard to find together in one market.
Affordable entry prices. Quality suburbs in Perth were accessible at a fraction of Sydney prices. We could buy a well-located property — close to schools, shops, and public transport — for under $700,000. In some areas, well under.
Strong rental yields. While Sydney properties typically return 2–3% gross rental yield, Perth was regularly hitting 5–7%. That’s not a marginal difference. It’s the difference between a property that costs you money each month and one that pays for itself.
Tight vacancy rates. A high yield means nothing if you can’t find a tenant. At the time of our research, Perth’s vacancy rate had dropped below 1% across most suburbs. Properties were renting within days of listing.
We used REIWA’s suburb profiles heavily during this phase. If you’re researching a Perth investment property, it’s one of the most useful free tools available — suburb-level data on median prices, days on market, rental yields, and vacancy rates.
The Research Process: What We Actually Looked At
Good property research takes time. We weren’t just looking at price — we were trying to understand what drives demand in a suburb over the long term.
For each area we considered, we looked at:
- Proximity to employment hubs, schools, and public transport
- Infrastructure spending committed by state and local government
- Population growth trends for the broader metro area
- Historical price growth over 5 and 10 year periods
- Current stock levels and days on market
- The ratio of owner-occupiers to renters (higher owner-occupier percentage generally indicates stronger long-term price growth)
According to ABS regional population data, Western Australia has been one of the fastest-growing states in Australia in recent years. That population growth flows directly into housing demand — and into rental demand in particular.
What We Actually Bought: A Perth Investment Property With Two Incomes
We didn’t buy a standard house. We bought a duplex — two dwellings on one title — in a well-located Perth suburb. The 3-bedroom side rents for $550 per week. The 2-bedroom side rents for $420 per week. Combined, that’s $970 per week, or roughly $50,440 per year in gross rental income.
The rental yield on that deal came out around 7.2% gross. You simply cannot find numbers like that in Sydney or Melbourne.
We also modelled out property management fees before we bought. In Perth, management fees typically run 8–10% of weekly rent. Factoring in those fees, plus council rates, water, insurance, and a maintenance buffer of around 1% of purchase price annually, the property remained positively geared. It generates income every month rather than costing us money.
That’s not common for investment property in Australia right now. It’s largely a function of choosing the right market — and choosing a duplex structure that generates two rental incomes from a single purchase.
Managing a Perth Investment Property From Sydney
The most common concern we hear from people considering interstate property is: “How do you manage it from so far away?”
The honest answer: your property manager does the heavy lifting.
Before we even exchanged contracts on our Perth investment property, we had already spent time finding a good property manager in Perth. We interviewed two agencies, asked about their vacancy rates, response times to maintenance requests, how they handle routine inspections, and whether they’d provide references. We went with the one whose communication we trusted.
Since buying, our property manager handles everything: quarterly routine inspections with photos and written reports, monthly financial statements, maintenance coordination, and tenant liaison. If something requires our approval above a pre-agreed threshold, they call us. Otherwise, they handle it.
We’ve been to Perth twice — once for settlement, once to check on the properties and meet the tenants. Both trips were positive. The properties were in good condition, the tenants were happy, and we left with confidence that the investment was performing as expected.
The 5-hour flight from Sydney sounds significant until you see your monthly statement.
The Perth Market Now vs When We Bought
Perth prices have moved since we bought. This isn’t a secret — the market has had a strong run. The days of buying well-located properties under $400,000 are largely behind us.
But relative to Sydney and Melbourne, Perth still offers:
- Lower entry prices for equivalent property quality
- Higher rental yields — typically 4–6% in good suburbs versus 2–3% in Sydney
- Stronger population growth projections than most other capital cities
- An economy underpinned by resources, international students, and significant infrastructure investment
For a young investor who can’t afford to buy in their home city, Perth remains one of the most accessible and highest-returning markets in the country.
What We’d Do Differently
A few things we’d handle differently if we were starting again:
Get the depreciation schedule sorted immediately after settlement. We delayed this by a couple of months and missed deductions in year one. If the dwelling is relatively new, investment property depreciation can be a meaningful tax benefit — but only if you have the schedule in place before you file.
Have your conveyancer sorted before you start making offers. We found ours in a hurry, which added unnecessary stress during an already busy period. Identify your Perth conveyancer before you’re in negotiations.
Visit Perth before you buy, not after. We did our research entirely online and didn’t visit until settlement. It worked out, but walking the suburb first would have given us more conviction. Book a trip, walk the streets, speak to locals, and inspect properties in person if you can.
Our Second Perth Investment Property
We’ve since bought a second investment property in Perth. Same city, same strategy: affordable, well-located, strong yield, tight vacancy suburb.
The plan is simple: keep building a portfolio of positively geared properties in Perth while we rent in Sydney. The rental income from both properties covers all holding costs and generates surplus cash flow every month. That surplus is being used to pay down debt and build equity.
We’re 24 and 23. We own two investment properties. It didn’t require a Sydney budget or a Sydney salary. It required being willing to look at a map and invest where the numbers actually worked.
If you’re just getting started with investment property in Australia, don’t let geography limit your thinking. The best investment property isn’t always the one closest to home. Sometimes it’s the one on the other side of the country — with better yields, lower vacancy, and a market still accessible to young investors willing to do the research.
That’s what Perth has been for us. And we’re still buying there.
One Property at a time
Brick by Brick 🧱
General Advice Warning: This article is general in nature and does not constitute personal financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.
