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City of MelvillePopulation forecast

The City of Melville

Drivers of population change

Development history

The City of Melville is located in Perth’s south west, between central Perth and Fremantle. The City is predominantly residential, with large institutional uses (including Murdoch University), as well as some employment areas. The City includes 18 kilometres of Swan River foreshore. Early settlement in the City dates from the 1890s, and was focussed in areas closest to Fremantle and the river. The relative isolation of the City from Perth and Fremantle meant that the area did not expand rapidly until the post war period. In the 1950s, the suburban spread of both Perth and Fremantle met in the City of Melville. Development of the southern areas if the City continued until the 1980s. Since the 1980s, growth has slowed substantially following the exhaustion of green field opportunities. The primary housing market role that the City of Melville has played in the post war period has been to provide home owning opportunities for prospective families from the inner and middle southern suburbs of Perth as well as the Fremantle area. There is continued demand for residential development within the City, owing to the high level of amenity enjoyed by many areas of the City, such as those closest to the river and around Murdoch University. The City’s amenity has been further enhanced following the opening of the Mandurah Railway line in 2007 along the Kwinana Freeway. The City has stations located in Murdoch, Bull Creek and at the border of Applecross and Como (Canning Bridge).

Historical migration flows, City of Melville, 2016-2021






Note: The migration flows depicted above are historical and do not represent future or forecast migration flows or subsequent council boundary changes. The arrows represent migration flows to the area as a whole and do not indicate an origin or destination for any specific localities within the area. Overseas flow shows overseas arrivals based on answers to the census question "where did the person usually live 5-years ago" and .id estimates of international out-migration.

*Please note, the 2021 Census was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time where border restrictions had largely halted overseas in-migration for the 15 months prior. 2016-2021 net overseas migration levels reflect this and therefore should not necessarily be considered indicative of longer-term trends.

Housing role and function

With the variety of residential areas, natural characteristics and period of development, different areas within the City of Melville have developed different roles within the housing market. Areas in the north of the City along the river such as Applecross, Attadale and Bicton are attractive to mature families (usually third or fourth homebuyers). Areas to the south are reaching a stage where large numbers of children are leaving home over the forecast period. The exception to this is Murdoch, where the university attracts large numbers of students. Areas such as Palmyra, Melville and Alfred Cove-Myaree are attractive to young adults in their 20s. The variety of function and role of the small areas in the City of Melville means that population outcomes differ significantly across the City.

Housing supply

There are also significant differences in the supply of future residential land within the City which will also have a major influence in structuring different population and household futures over the next five to ten years. New development opportunities have been identified in areas around the new southern railway (Murdoch, Bull Creek) as well as areas in the City’s north along the Swan and Canning Rivers. New student housing is also expected at Murdoch and significant opportunities for residential development have been identified within the suburb. A number of areas have had structure plans prepared, in order to identify opportunities for higher density development, and direct where and how it might occur. As a result of these structure plans, it is expected that there will be significant opportunities for more intensive development in discreet areas located particularly in Applecross, Murdoch, Booragoon, Willagee and Ardross. In contrast, a number of areas in the south, such as Leeming, Winthrop and Bateman are generally expected to have a relatively low amount of new dwellings over the forecast period.

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