The West Australian
Within the next five years, another 200,000 people are set to call Perth home.
With WA already the fastest growing population in the country for the past two years — growth some experts have described as “astronomical” — it’s set to put more strain on existing infrastructure and further increase demand for already scarce and increasingly expensive housing.
“Ultimately, we are at the precipice where we could get it right or we could get it very wrong,” Amanda Davies, head of the school of social services at University of WA said.
The growth is set to be most keenly felt in the city’s south east and north west, according to fresh forecasts from demographers .id obtained by The West Australian.
East Wanneroo and Yanchep in Perth’s north and Mundijong to the south east are expected to have some of the quickest development in the next five years, the latest modelling from Urban Development Institute of Australia WA shows.
Drawn in by cheaper prices and a laid back lifestyle, interstate and international migrants flock to the outer suburbs of Perth.
But pressure on power supply, property prices and even schools continues to grow as infrastructure and construction workforce struggle to keep up.
UDIA WA chief executive Tanya Steinbeck said infrastructure was often holding development back.
“The biggest issue in our minds is actually getting titled land out onto the ground in the growth areas that we have looked at,” she said.
“The biggest constraints is power, sewerage, water across those areas, power in particular.”
Those already in new suburbs are feeling the lag.
To read the article in full, including further comments from UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck, visit the West Australian.