A seven-storey apartment project at Ascot Waters has added more variety to the market in Perth’s eastern suburbs, with the developer saying it has attracted potential buyers from other parts of the city.

Blackburne’s Marina East project is the final stage of the Ascot Waters precinct, an area where development began 20 years ago.

Estates Development Company held the last site, which remained vacant for almost 15 years. It was sold to Blackburne in 2015, with the developer planning to build 91 apartments across two complexes.

The development follows several projects in Rivervale and Maylands, including ASX-listed Finbar Group’s Unison on Tenth Avenue, which is close to finalising sales with 11 apartments remaining of a total 152.

Finbar is due to launch its Circa Apartments project on Rowe Avenue, with development approval received for two additional projects across Rivervale and Maylands, and a further three projects at the planning and design stage in Rivervale.

Blackburne director of sales and marketing Brad Kelly said although there had been a number of developments in the area, prospective buyers had not compared Marina East to anything within 3 kilometres of the project.

“The competitive comparison is occurring with other sites and projects located in places like Mount Pleasant
and South Perth,” Mr Kelly told Business News.

“In other pockets of Perth there’s a lot more choice for consumers; I think there’s a real shortage of quality
apartment product on the eastern side of the city.

“All four of our penthouses have gone to contract and we’ve now moved into the option of amalgamating apartments. There’s unmet demand from people looking for larger apartments, willing to spend up to $2 million for an apartment that is the combined price of a two or three bedroom.”

Sales of $28 million, or 40 per cent of the project, had been made during the past month according to Mr Kelly, who said three-bedroom apartments were the most popular product type and that the location had been the main drawcard.

“It’s within 10 kilometres of the CBD and 5km from the airport, yet you’re surrounded by waterways and parkland,” he said.

“And there’s no road that separates our project and the water, that’s rare; everything in South Perth either has a road or a road and a park that separates it from the water. It’s also the only marina that sits east of the city.”

Mr Kelly said stock had largely been sold to owner-occupiers.

“Downsizers have more confidence in the market now to what the current value of their existing home is and they’re happy to step forward and make a decision,” he said. “I think if you’ve got quality product that appeals to owner-occupiers, it’s a good time to be a developer.”

To find out more, visit www.marinaeast.com.au