Feature Suburb - Wannanup
WANANNUP
SAFETY SCORE: ★★★★★
If you don’t know much about Wannanup, here are a few things worth being away of if you’re thinking of moving to the area.
IT HAS A VERY DIVERSE MIX OF PROPERTY AVAILABLE.
There’s canal homes, estuary homes, homes on the Dawesville Cut, homes overlooking the beach, an incredible collection of Mediterranean style townhouses, many on canals with their own jetties, and there’s everyday affordable homes, old brick and iron holiday shacks, and everything in between.
IT’S AFFORDABLE
There’s more or less something in Wannanup for every budget. You will find things in most first home buyers’ price range, and there’s also your retirement dream-house mansions. And to be frank a world class home by the water still costs less than a regular suburban nothing-burger in a place like Sydney.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD IS RIDICULOUSLY FRIENDLY
I have no idea why, but there’s a really strong sense of community, and neighbours looking out for each other in the suburb. It’s quite remarkable.
CRIME IS VERY LOW
Perhaps it has to do with the friendly neighbourhood, or maybe it’s because a high percentage of occupants are owners rather than renting, but crime is very low in Wannanup. Break-ins relative to how many dwellings exist are some of the lowest numbers in WA. More on the safety data below.
THE LIFESTYLE IS AMAZING FOR THOSE WHO LOVE NATURE
If you need to go outside and touch grass, Wannanup might be a great place to pitch your tent. But if your idea of a great lifestyle is nightclubs, countless new restaurants, and the frantic pace of modernity, Wannanup is not for you. It’s too far from Northbridge, and not everybody likes breaking their screen addiction and going outside. But if you yearn for a different existence than just scrolling TikTok, watching reality TV, and waiting to retire in a job you don’t like, maybe have a look at what Wannanup has to offer. You have world class beaches, waterways, and nature walks, and you’re on the doorstep of the amazing South West.
Ok so what are the downsides to Wannanup?
If you work in Perth, it’s a fair way south. It’s at the very south end of Endeavor Island (the island that was created by the Dawesville Cut). A commute to Perth and back each day to Wannanup can be a killer. It’s not too bad on the train, but even then you have a 20 minute drive to the Mandurah train station, and THEN another hour train ride to the city. It’s not so long if your work is in the south end of Perth, or obviously Mandurah itself. But you will find your friends in Perth’s northern suburbs reluctant to drive down and to say hi.
That said, if the rat race is what you want to leave, then those features might be a blessing, not a curse.
Other downsides to Wannanup include a limited amount of shopping. There’s a local deli / bottle shop, but it’s closed by 7 most nights. If you want an IGA or more choice, you need to hop in the car and head down to Falcon or Halls Head. Not too far that it’s a deal breaker tbqh. But that said, the local restaurants and cafes are all absolutely wonderful.
I can’t think of any other real downsides than that for Wannanup. If you can work from home, work for yourself, or don’t mind a train ride, the coastal location just right.
SAFETY
According to the most recent census data from 2021, Wannanup has around 2129 private dwellings.
In 2022 there were a total of 16 reported of burglaries of dwellings. This gives us a rate of 0.7%. That’s essentially like saying “you’re likely to be broken into less than once every 100 years”. The year prior, 2021, there were only 7 reported burglaries in Wannanup; a ridiculously low rate of 0.3%. To put that in comparison, a typical Perth suburb like Morley had 116 dwelling burglaries, and has 9656 dwellings. That gives a rate of 1.2%.
(For comparison, a suburb in Geraldton such as Rangeway has a break in rate of 11.8%, an order of magnitude worse than any typical Mandurah suburb, and a rougher suburb in Perth like Balga has a rate of around 2%.)
A few other interesting Wannanup facts
Population 4142
19.6% of residents are renting
24.8% of dwellings were unoccupied on census night
