WA’S first “micro lots” are set to shake-up the housing market when they go on sale this year, with Perth block sizes shrinking to suit smaller budgets and changing lifestyles.

The 80sqm blocks in Ellenbrook — which will be priced at less than $300,000 — are the smallest green-title lots ever seen in WA, but some property industry insiders say the future looks even smaller.

They boldly predict Perth could see blocks as tiny as 50-60sqm — about the same size as an AFL goal square — within a few years.

Last year, the average lot size in Perth was 383sqm — far more compact than the average parcel of 525sqm in 2008 and the 700sqm blocks seen across Perth in the 1970s.

According to Urban Development Institute of Australia figures, the average block price last year was $233,880 — an 8 per cent drop in the past two years. And Perth landbuyers are paying more per square metre, forking out $616/sqm last year compared to $455 in 2009.

UDIA WA chief executive Allison Hailes said developers realised a range of lots were needed to cater for those on lower incomes, while some time-poor buyers preferred smaller lots because it meant less maintenance.

Camera Icon How small is 80sqm? Credit: PerthNow

“We are starting to see the average lot size stabilise between 300 and 350sqm,” she said.

The trial of the 80sqm lots was approved in 2015 and LWP Property Group expects those 11 micro-lot homes to be finished about October.

The same developer yesterday launched its Innovo village in Ellenbrook, consisting of 11 two-storey terrace display homes on compact, green-title blocks between 126sqm and 175sqm with street frontage as narrow as 4.5m and starting from about $320,000. Floorplans for these homes reach up to 200sqm.

Ms Hailes believed interest in micro lots, entrenched in other States but new to Perth, would gather momentum.

“Once the community can see how good developments can be on smaller lots I expect interest in them will then start to grow more rapidly,” she said.

LWP managing director Danny Murphy said people were willing to trade off big backyards as long as there was easy access to public amenities and open space.

“It’s a bit like inner-city living but on the fringe,” he said.

“We’ll start with 80sqm ... but we’ll get down towards 60sqm — I think in the next three years you will see that in Perth.”

Brad Thompson, of Thompson Sustainable Homes, which was involved in the Innovo village, believed Perth would follow other states like Queensland where there were already blocks as small as 50sqm.

“That’s where the future will be heading in WA,” he said.

Single first-homebuyer Natasha Bederson bought an Innovo terrace off-the-plan and hopes to move in later this year. She said the small block didn’t worry her as the home itself was big enough for her and any visitors, while the absence of strata fees was a big plus.

“I was looking for something affordable because I just wanted to get into the market but with a single income it wasn’t usually enough,” the 26-year-old customer education manager said.

“For someone like me who is single I don’t have that much energy trying to maintain a home, especially on the external side.”

CLE Town Planning and Design director Jane Bennett, who has researched micro lots elsewhere, said WA had a long way to go before lots as minuscule as 50sqm were allowed. She said there was “a lot of new innovation” in the 100-150sqm category, particularly in Perth’s north-east corridor, including using lightweight construction material and clever space-saving ideas.

“I don’t think we’re going to see a flood of micro-lot housing ... at the moment I don’t see a need to go to lot sizes that small because we’re hitting some very good affordability targets,” she said.

“There are a lot of people who don’t necessarily want to live in an apartment but want the convenience of having a small house footprint and the benefits of green-title lots.”

Play Video Overall growth in the housing market doesn't mean that all properties are increasing in value. Overall growth in the housing market doesn't mean that all properties are increasing in value.

Stockland residential WA manager Col Dutton said interest in its smallest lots — 112sqm at Whiteman Edge in Perth’s north — had been strong with 40 sold off-the-plan in the past year. Those block sizes appeal to first homebuyers and downsizers, Mr Dutton said.

He said product diversity was key and it was crucial when developing masterplan communities that they not resemble cookie-cutter suburbs.

“You don’t want to ruin it by having all of the one product,” Mr Dutton said.

Developer Nigel Satterley, whose current smallest lots are 180sqm, said offering small blocks was about providing housing options in good locations that people could otherwise not afford.

“Since the GFC, people want less debt and are more conscious of the long-term repayment of debt, which I think is more responsible,” he said.

“Due to diminishing opportunities to acquire new large subdivisions, small lots will become more popular as more infill sites are developed in higher density locations.”

Mr Satterley said the trend of everybody having a big backyard was a thing of the past.

“The way we live has changed. The parks (in these masterplan communities) are becoming like the family room and backyard, where the kids play and mums meet,” he said.

Perth property analyst and valuer Gavin Hegney believed lot sizes in Perth had reached a plateau and buyers were opting for slightly larger blocks as it was better value for money.

Camera Icon Average WA lot sizes and prices 2008-2016 Credit: PerthNow

“The price gap is not as large as it once was ... before the gap might have been $50,000 between a slightly larger lot and a small lot, now it might be down around $20,000,” he said. “People are grabbing larger lots in the downswing.

“The trend (towards small lots) will emerge once we get more advanced into this property cycle.”

A WA Planning Commission spokeswoman said the Ellenbrook 80sqm lot trial was approved in 2015 and “future policy on lot sizes will be determined by the government of the day”.

“The WAPC recognises the need for choice and diversity of housing to cater for a changing society,” she said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows there was a 25 per cent drop in the past year in dwelling building approvals in WA from 29,184 in 2015 down to 21,622 last year.

Preliminary REIWA figures from the December quarter last year show the median land sale was $274,500, a nearly 3 per cent drop from the previous year, while 1004 blocks were sold — a 45 per cent annual decline.

Perth’s median house price was $525,000 in the December quarter, down 2.7 per cent in the year.

Camera Icon Expectant mum Taryn Kelsall and her partner David Scerri, pictured with their children Paxton, 4, and Valletta, 2, have a new small-lot home at Golden Bay plenty big enough for the family. Credit: PerthNow, Daniel Wilkins

TINY LOTS SUIT BUYERS

A TWO-MINUTE walk is all it takes for dad David Scerri, his partner and kids to leave their new home in an outer metropolitan area and reach three parks, a football oval and the beach.

Given that smorgasbord of outdoor options on their doorstep, not having a huge backyard does not bother the 27-year-old marine engineer and his young family in the slightest.

Mr Scerri, his 31-week pregnant partner Taryn Kelsall, 27, and their two children, Paxton, 4, and two-year-old Valletta moved into their newly built home in Golden Bay, north of Mandurah, six weeks ago, which they purchased for $345,000 from developer Peet.

At 325sqm, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is on a block less than the Perth average.

The father said his property was “absolutely” big enough for his growing family, and the secret was making smart and imaginative use of what you had. For him, that included plans put decking across most of his backyard to have a large al fresco area and turn a small side pocket into a botanical chill-out spot.

Mr Scerri said he did not need the maintenance associated with big blocks and would rather spend time with his family.

“Most people don’t even use their backyards anyway ... it’s just a patch of grass,” he said.

“The days when the kids would be able to kick a footy or play cricket in the backyard, they’re really gone with these smaller blocks, but the whole Aussie lifestyle where you can have your family over for a barbecue is still alive and kicking. It depends how you look at it, small blocks aren’t really a hindrance to lifestyle.”

Mr Scerri said for him and his partner, their decision to purchase their first home came down to location and amenities. Where they are now, shops are within a two-minute drive and their son’s school can be seen from their front windows.

“I would rather a small block in a better area than a bigger block that doesn’t have much,” he said.