West Footscray is an inner western suburb of Melbourne, situated 8km west of the CBD and within the City of Maribyrnong Local Government Area.
West Footscray is best known for being the home of the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval. The Western Bulldogs previously played home matches at Whitten Oval, before Docklands Stadium, though the oval is still used as a training ground and for VFL matches.
Alike to many of the inner western suburbs, West Footscray has gone through major rejuvenation and gentrification in recent decades, with much of the original lower socioeconomic demographic being displaced further west.
House prices in West Footscray broke $1M for the first time in the suburbs history in 2022. Decade after decade, the suburb consistently records new record prices and rents.
Lifestyle
West Footscray is a suburb of a mixed lifestyle. There are pockets that are quiet, and fairly green and others that are busy and of a much higher density.
Hansen Reserve, Shorten Reserve, Johnson Reserve and Whitten Oval are the two main venues where many locals exercise, watch sporting events or play sports.
Gaudion Reserve and Bassett Reserve are two smaller venues where locals often can be seen relaxing or picnicking.
As a suburb of the inner west, cafe and restaurant culture is popular, commonly along Barkly Street - the main street of the suburb.
School Zones
Footscray West Primary School is the most common public primary school within West Footscray. Kingsville Primary School is common for students who live in the southern part of the suburb. St John's Primary School is a catholic school in the suburb for students of the same age.
Braybrook College & Footscray High School is the most common school for adolescent students to attend. Caroline Chisholm Catholic College is for students of the same age seeking a catholic education.
The Western English Language School on south road is within neighbouring Braybrook, and serves many of the new migrants and english as a second language students in the local area and surrounding suburbs.
Private schools are uncommon for students to attend in West Footscray, however some of the students who attend often board Melbourne Grammar School, Melbourne Girls Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School.
Yarraville Special Development School is a school for special needs students that is 10 minutes away from West Footscray.
Demographics
Alike to many other suburbs of Melbourne's inner west, West Footscray was once a very working class neighbourhood, though now has gone through significant gentrification and is a hot spot for professionals.
Incomes in West Footscray have nearly tripled and risen from a weekly household median income in 2006 of $821 to $1,989 in 2021.
There are many mixed households in West Footscray from families with and without children, to single parent households and share houses.
Large populations of Vietnamese people are within West Footscray, and smaller populations of Italian, Greek and Chinese as well.
Employment
Close of 50% of West Footscray residents are either professionals and managers by trade, which has increased dramatically over the past 20 years according to the ABS Census Data.
The most common employers are healthcare, education, administration and IT. Cafes and restaurants are also major employers mainly for many of the existing residents and younger population that are within the suburb.
Transport
Tottenham and West Footscray Railway Stations are both within West Footscray, and run regular services to and from Melbourne's west and CBD.
Buses are another common method of transport and run mainly along Braybrook's main roads: Barkly Street, Sunshine Road, Geelong Road, Roberts Street, Sunshine Road, Dempster Street & Ashley Street.
Cars are the also a common method of transport in Braybrook, largely popular with families. Many residents who work within other inner west suburbs, commute to work via their car.
Shopping Centre's, Restaurants & Facilities
Barkly Village is a section of Barkly Street that is home to many grocers, restaurants and cafes.
Some of the best ethnic restaurants included Vietnamese, Chinese, Anglo, Thai and Italian restaurants are within West Footscray, which are attended by residents all over the inner west and Melbourne.
Aussie rules is the most popular sport in West Footscray with Whitten Oval being the home of the Western Bulldogs.
Cricket and soccer are the other two sports that are popular in Braybrook. The Melbourne Knights Football Club play locally at Dobson Reserve. Druids Cricket Club and the West Footscray Roosters play at Essex Reserve.
Local shopping is done generally at the Central West Plaza, however most department shopping is done in the CBD or Docklands.
There is a local Vietnamese Buddhist temple located in the suburb as is the new construction of the West Footscray Community Centre.
Residents often also travel to Williamstown, Footscray and Yarraville for other lifestyle events such as festivals and days out.
Development
North of the train line, West Footscray is nearly entirely a residential suburb or low and medium density residential dwellings.
In the southern end of the suburb towards Tottenham, industrial dwellings are common, though residential dwellings are also fairly common.
Commercial developments mainly happen along the main roads of the suburb, with shop top housing making a small appearance in some locations.
Most of the best development sites in West Footscray are 3 & 4 lot townhouse developments, though a lot of existing stock is held by developers land banking to ensure exceeding profits for future years to come.
Capital Growth
West Footscray is one of Australia's best suburbs for capital growth and has grown at above 9.5% year on year. The best pockets of West Footscray have performed at above 12% year on year.
Developers who have bought and developed on these lots over the past 30 years have done extremely well. Many original dwellings on large blocks in the suburb have great development potential, with some placing 3-4 townhouses on the existing lot.
Townhouses perform at 5% capital growth in West Footscray and units have insufficient numbers as they make up less than 4% of the suburb.
Cash Flow
West Footscray houses have great yield for Melbourne, generally between 3.3-3.5% year on year. This is one of the highest yields for a suburb on a train line within 10km of the CBD.
Townhouses yield closer to 5.2% year on year, and units average similar, despite their being so few.
Some houses in West Footscray are known to yield above 4.5%, many of these are share houses and set up as multi-dwelling units.
Rental Demand
Houses in West Footscray generally have vacancy rates at 1.5%, however since COVID19, this has been close to 1%, critically undersupplied.
Townhouses and units have vacancy rates closer to 2.2%, generally occupied by the younger and more temporary residents of the suburb.
Rents in West Footscray have nearly doubled since 2010, moving from $340 per week to above $600 per week in 2024. This is representation of the continued demand and consistent undersupply of rental accommodation in West Footscray.
Why You Require a Buyers Agent in West Footscray
Long gone are the days of limited demand from Melbourne's residents. West Footscray is now in demand from professionals, upgraders, investors and developers.
A theme of buying in West Footscray is also the presence of international buyers that are often very strong bidders for property in the suburb.
Picking the correct stock is difficult for those not in the know in West Footscray. There are major differences between different pockets of West Footscray, some historically doing 12% and others doing closer to 7.5%.
Having a buyers agent in your corner is a sure way to have the experience at hand to secure the correct property at the correct price in the correct location, saving you hundreds of thousands on the way in and making you millions for years to come.
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