Welcome to the City of Mandurah Population Forecasts

The City of Mandurah is located in Western Australia's Peel Region, between 55 and 95 kilometres south of Perth. The City is predominantly residential, with areas of National Park in the south. The City includes significant areas of Indian Ocean, Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary foreshore. Early settlement in the City dates from the 1830s, when Thomas Peel and a number of pioneers set up in what is now Mandurah. Development of the area remained slow until a road was built to the region and a ferry across the estuary opened in 1850. Early industries included fishing, fruit growing and canning. From the turn of the twentieth century, the area became renowned as a holiday destination, and tourism became an important contributor to the local economy. In the immediate post war era, significant growth was experienced, much of it the form of holiday dwellings. From the 1970s onwards, significant growth occurred in permanent dwellings and the population of the area increased substantially. The primary housing market role that the City of Mandurah has played in the post war period has been to provide home owning opportunities for two distinct markets - young family households and retirees, generally from metropolitan Perth.

There is continued demand for residential development within the City, catering for both people moving from Perth and also new households being formed from within the existing population of the City of Mandurah.

With the variety of residential areas, natural characteristics and period of development, different areas within the City of Mandurah have developed different roles within the housing market. Many areas attract both families, as well as empty-nesters and retirees, such as Coodanup, Dawesville - Bouvard - Herron - Clifton, Halls Head, Madora Bay, Meadow Springs and Wannanup. Silver Sands - San Remo tends to attract a mature family market. By contrast, areas with greater foreshore access such as Dudley Park, Erskine, Falcon, as well as Greenfields - Parklands (with a large number of retirement villages) are more attractive to retirees and empty-nesters.

Growth areas such as Lakelands tend to attract a broad-based market with the majority of migrants to the area aged under 50. The centre of Mandurah is attractive to both young adults as well as childless adults and retirees. The variety of function and role of the small areas in the City of Mandurah means that population outcomes differ significantly across the City.

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. Significant new development opportunities have been identified in almost all areas in the City of Mandurah, most notably Lakelands, Dawesville - Bouvard - Herron - Clifton, Mandurah and Halls Head. Only Silver Sands-San Remo is expected to have limited residential development over the forecast period. Growth in households is also expected to come from the conversion of holiday dwellings to places of permanent residence.