Cannington suburb profile: What are its unique selling points and is it a good place to live?

LIVING IN: Cannington

Population: 6875

Distance from Perth CBD: 11.8km south-east

Median House Price: $565,000

Median Unit Price: $445,000

Crime: 2695 offences (2023-2024)

Cannington is perhaps best known as the home of Westfield Carousel, one of its major drawcards for more than a half century, but the suburb is more than just home to a shopping centre.

Described by local real estate agents as ideal for first-homebuyers on the hunt for convenience and vibrancy, Cannington’s south-western border abuts the Canning River, providing respite from the built area.

Right at its border with Beckenham is the Woodloes Homestead museum. The restored 1874 house was built by architect and pioneer Francis Bird and was used as a congregational church in the 1800s.

Built in 1972, Wesfield Carousel became one of Perth’s largest shopping complexes after being refurbished in the 1990s to make room for a gym, a pub, restaurants and a cinema. These days it’s the city’s biggest in terms of the number of shops, with more than 350, and is one of of the few centres to offer late-night Friday shopping.

Elsewhere, the Cannington Leisureplex on the corner of Wharf and Sevenoaks streets harbours a modern library, indoor swimming pool, basketball courts and gym facilities for locals to engage in social or competitive sports classes.

The Canning Show is the neighbourhood’s premier community event which sees families from all over Perth flock to the suburb in November for two nights of carnival-style food and rides. Every year you can be guaranteed fireworks and memorable performances by local artists.

Cannington is a popular destination for greyhound racing thanks to the Cannington Exhibition Centre which was home to the Cannington Raceway from 1974 until 2015. The weekend tradition didn’t stop as the greyhound racing now takes place across the road on Liege Street on a new track that opened in 2016.

Minic Property Group’s sales representative Nik Daniel said: “The quantity and quality of entertainment in Cannington is something residents don’t like to leave.”

Cannington’s name derives from the Canning River, which used to be inside the suburb’s boundary. For many years the areas of Cannington, East Cannington and Beckenham were known as Waverley until the area was first subdivided in 1882. This is why many buildings and businesses use the name Waverley, such as the Waverley Hotel or the Waverley Drive-in Cinema.

The Cannington of today is bounded by Nicholson Road to the south-east, the Armadale railway line to the north-east, Mills and Burton streets to the north-west, and Fleming Avenue and the Canning River to the south-west.

Between 1860 and 1883 William Lacey Gibbs slowly accumulated most of what is now known as Cannington. It was Mr Gibbs’ brother who built the Waverley Hotel in 1896 on the corner of Cecil Road and Albany Highway.

The hotel was revised many times, even changing names over the years, and was recently demolished to allow for the widening of Albany Highway.

Albany Highway runs through the western part of the suburb and acts as a primary route into Perth’s central business district. Leach Highway, Roe Highway and Manning Road also fall within the suburb’s boundaries linking residents to Fremantle, Mandurah and Midland.

The Cannington railway station serves the Armadale and Thornlie lines further improving the suburb’s connectivity and convenience.

Mr Daniel says Cannington’s proximity to the airport or Perth’s CBD is its greatest asset.

Schools in Cannington include Cannington Primary School and Cannington Community College. Not far from Cannington is Queenspark where St Joseph Primary School and St Norbert College can be found.

“Residents tend to send their kids here if they are after private education,” Mr Daniel says.

The median age in the 4sqkm suburb is 30 and 56 per cent of homes have three bedrooms attracting young buyers with growing families.

Couples without children make up 41.8 per cent of the suburb and couple families with children are not far behind at 40.7 per cent.

Most of the homes in Cannington are stand-alone houses making up 46.2 per cent of the stock. Townhouses make up 36 per cent and apartments only 16.8 per cent.

Houses in Cannington last just 13 days on the market, while units last 19, according to REIWA data.