We get this question a lot — and we’ll be upfront.
Apartments aren’t typically a strong investment in Perth. While they might seem affordable or low maintenance, the reality is they often underperform on growth, eat into your returns with high strata fees, and give you very little room to add value over time.
Let’s break it down.
Why We Don’t Recommend Apartments as an Investment
1. Growth is Slow – and Often Stalls
Even after the recent uptick, many apartments in Perth are only just returning to prices seen 10 years ago. That’s a full decade of holding with little to no capital growth. Meanwhile, house prices have grown steadily, especially in well-chosen suburbs.
Here’s why: houses sit on land, and land appreciates. Buildings don’t appreciate.
You’re buying the building, not the land — and buildings go down in value over time, not up, they get older, deteriorate and take more maintenance costs the older they are.
2. Strata Fees Can Crush Your Yield
You might get a cheaper entry price with an apartment, but it’s what comes after that really hurts.
Strata fees in Perth are often $5,000–$10,000 per year, and more if the building has a pool, or lobby, entertainment facility or concierge.
You’ll pay them whether your tenant is in or not.
And you have no control over increases — the strata committee decides.
That means your rental return gets eaten up fast, and it makes it harder to scale into your next investment.
3. You Can’t Add Value
One of the best parts about investing in property is adding value; extending, landscaping, reconfiguring layouts, especially subdividing and developing.
You can’t do any of that with an apartment. Sometimes, a fresh lick of paint and a new kitchen can boost the value but not by huge margins lately.
No extensions. No extra bedrooms. No adding car bays. No subdividing. No granny flats.
You’re locked into what you bu,y and your upside is limited from day one.
4. Oversupply = Flat Rents and Stagnant Prices
A lot of Perth’s apartment stock was built during the last boom. In areas like East Perth, Wembley and Rivervale, we’ve seen more supply than demand, which has kept rents low and growth flat.
These areas may look attractive on paper, but it’s usually developers who benefit, not long-term investors.
When Might an Apartment Be “Okay”?
We’re not saying never. If you:
- Have a budget between $300k and $500k, and
- Can’t stretch to a house & land option, and
- Can’t team up with a friend, partner or family member to buy better property…
…then yes, buying an apartment is better than doing nothing. It’s a foothold.
It can get you into the market, help you build equity, and give you a stepping stone to upgrade to a house in 3-10 years.
But we want to be clear: if you have another option, you’re almost always better off choosing house & land.
So What Should You Do Instead?
We help clients every day who thought a house was out of reach — until they realised what’s possible.
- Joint ventures with friends or family
- Low-deposit land packages in growth corridors
- House & land builds under $600k
- Creative funding strategies that stretch your budget further
We work backwards from your financial position and long-term goals to figure out what’s actually possible, not just what the banks or ads say.
Apartments might look like the easy option, but long term, they rarely deliver the returns or growth that smart investors are chasing.
If you’re stuck thinking an apartment is your only choice, let’s have a quick chat first. You might be surprised what we can make happen.
Reach out to the team at Better Way 2 Build — we’ll help you get it right from the start.
