Perth's apartment market is entering a new phase, with premium owner-occupier developments increasingly becoming the projects that make it from planning to construction.

According to House Agency Director Tom House, the combination of elevated construction costs, a growing downsizer market and increasing buyer expectations is creating a "flight to quality", where luxury developments are outperforming more affordable apartment projects.

Speaking with Apartments.com.au CEO Mike Bird during a recent tour of ADC's under-construction Mos Lane development in Mosman Park, House said Perth's apartment market is fundamentally different from those of Australia's eastern states.

"I think we're just coming out of that sort of clumsy toddler part of apartment living in Perth," House said.

"Maybe Melbourne and Sydney are more progressed, but certainly Perth right now is seeing a flight to quality."

House believes the shift is being driven largely by affluent homeowners looking to exchange large family homes for high-quality apartments that offer the same level of finish, without the maintenance.

"People are looking at something that gives them all of the luxuries of their house, but maybe not the size and not the maintenance of the yard," he said.

Rather than first-home buyers or investors driving the market, House says established owner-occupiers are now underpinning many of Perth's new apartment projects.

That buyer profile has become increasingly important as developers grapple with rising construction costs.

"I think currently, with the construction market, the only way projects are going to get delivered is leaning on that downsizer market," House said.

"People are able to sell the family home that's worth significantly more than the apartment and downsize or right-size."

In his view, this dynamic has made it difficult for mid-market apartment projects to stack up financially, particularly outside Perth's blue-chip suburbs.

"I don't think it's plausible to be looking at those sort of mid-tier projects here at the moment," he said.

"There just isn't that allowance from selling the family home in some of those suburbs to downsize and put money away for retirement."

Instead, premium developments in established western suburbs such as Mosman Park, Cottesloe and nearby riverfront locations continue to attract strong buyer demand.

Mos Lane provides a clear example.

The 66-residence development by boutique developer ADC is now well under construction and more than half sold, with House saying the majority of purchasers have come from within a single postcode.

"It's been predominantly people from within one postcode," he said.

"It's a huge owner-occupier market in Mosman Park and surrounds."

House attributes much of that demand to buyers' confidence in both the project's quality and its delivery.

As construction progresses, he says confidence naturally builds, something that has become increasingly important in Perth following several delayed or cancelled apartment projects in recent years.

"We're probably up around 15 per cent from where we started selling these apartments," House said.

"As people see it come out of the ground, the confidence builds around it."

He says buyers are also paying closer attention to the experience and capability of the project team.

"Knowing the team behind it, in this case ADC and Icon Construction, that's what people are looking to."

Beyond construction certainty, House believes buyer expectations themselves have evolved.

Downsizers are no longer simply looking for smaller homes, they're expecting apartments that replicate many of the qualities of the houses they're leaving behind, from premium finishes and generous storage to practical amenities and lock-up-and-leave convenience.

For many, the challenge is less financial than emotional.

"It's one thing to look at a project and go, 'It's beautiful,'" House said.

"It's another thing for somebody who's used to living in a two or three-storey house on the river to understand how they're going to right-size."

That education process, he says, has become a significant part of selling premium apartments in Perth.

As more owner-occupiers embrace apartment living and developers continue to target the luxury end of the market, House expects the trend to continue.

For now, Perth's apartment sector appears to be following a different path to the eastern capitals, one where premium quality, construction certainty and downsizer demand are proving to be the key ingredients for successful new developments.

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