REIWA data shows Wandina and Waggrakine were the best performing suburbs in Geraldton over the March quarter

Wandina and Waggrakine have emerged as the star Geraldton suburbs when it comes to sales and price growth, according to the latest real estate snapshot. With house prices as a whole sliding down compared with the State’s, certain suburbs in the Greater City are individually still performing well. The Real Estate Institute of WA’s regional data for the March quarter revealed Wandina had had the most sales for the quarter while Waggrakine had the strongest price growth. The Mid West city had a downturn in house sales, but Wandina suburb performed quite well with 25 sales over the quarter. Mt Tarcoola had the next highest amount of sales with 23, followed by Sunset Beach in third with 14 sales. Overall, greater Geraldton recorded 176 property sales in the March quarter. Prices remained static in the quarter, but Geraldton was the only regional centre to record a price fall over the past year, with a 1.1 per cent drop in the median house price to $370,000. Phil Sorgiovanni of Activewest Real Estate said Wandina performed well because of how desirable the area was. “It’s very family-orientated and very investor-orientated. . . so that’ll always maintain a reasonable high level of sales,” he said. “Other suburbs will fluctuate up and down, but Wandina is generally a fairly sought-after family suburb with schools and other facilities that are now available in that area.” Out of the top six suburbs with the highest number of house sales, Wandina also had the highest median sale price of $455,000, Mount Tarcoola’s median sale price was $65,000 cheaper comparatively. This can be accredited to the quality of properties the suburb has to offer. “The reason for the price difference is it’s a newer suburb, new buildings, as opposed to probably the ones that are a little more aged in Mount Tarcoola,” Mr Sorgiovanni said. “I would suggest that’s why the median is down lower than one is, the newer properties.” In the suburbs which had at least nine house sales over the quarter, Waggrakine had the strongest price growth, as sales increased by 2.9 per cent over the quarter. With a median sale price of $360,000, it places the suburb just below the average for the Geraldton region, which can explain the growth over the quarter. “If it’s coming off a lower base position, then generally speaking it will still move with the market, even if it’s slightly slower than some of the other suburbs,” Mr Sorgiovanni said. “In Waggrakine, infill and things are starting to occur out there, it’s a bit cheaper option for people and not too far from town.” TOP SALES (suburbs, sales, median house sale price) Wandina, 25, $455,000 Mt Tarcoola, 23, $390,000 Sunset Beach, 14, $390,000 Drummond Cove, 13, $450,000 Beachlands, 12, $347,500 Bluff Point, 12, $429,500 TOP PRICE GROWTH (suburb, quarterly price growth, median house sale price) Waggrakine, 2.9 per cent, $360,000 Beachlands, 2.5 per cent, $347,500 Tarcoola Beach, 2.4 per cent, $435,000 Rangeway, 2.3 per cent, $175,000 Drummond Cove, 2.3 per cent, $450,000 Source: REIWA (Figures based on suburbs which had nine or more sales in the March quarter)