Busselton is the fastest leasing regional centre in Western Australia, with reiwa.com data showing the median time to lease a rental in the area was 11 days during the three months to February 2021.
REIWA President Damian Collins said the Busselton median leasing time was nine days faster than the Perth median leasing time for the same time period and 12 days quicker than it was during the three months to February 2020.
Property investors in the Busselton regional centre are finding tenants for their rentals quicker than any other regional centre in the state. The speed at which vacant rentals are being tenanted has a lot to do with the reduction of available rental properties in the area due to the rental shortage affecting the state.
This has caused increased competition among tenants in Busselton and put upwards pressure on the regional centres median rent price, which increased by $100 a week to $500 when compared to the three months to February 2020, Mr Collins said.
reiwa.com data shows the other regional centres to record median leasing times below the Perth figure during the three months to February 2021 were Albany and Bunbury at 16 days each.
Albanys median leasing time has quickened by seven days when comparing the three months to February 2021 to the three months to February 2020, while the median leasing time in Bunbury reduced by 16 days when comparing those same time frames, Mr Collins said.
When we drill down to suburb level within regional WA, of the 10 suburbs that experienced the fastest median leasing times in the three months to February 2021, four were located in the South West region and three of those were from the Bunbury regional centre.
The 10 regional suburbs with the fastest median leasing time in the three months to February 2021 were Australind (15 days), Eaton (15 days), Bridgetown (16 days), Spencer Park (17 days), Bunbury (21 days), Newman (23 days), Kalgoorlie (24 days), Bulgarra (26 days), Cable Beach (26 days) and Wandina (29 days).
Regional WA, like Perth, is suffering from a rental shortage and needs an influx of investor activity to inject more private rental stock into the market and help house the growing number of tenants across the state who are searching for a rental.
| Regional centre | Median leasing days (three months to Feb 2021) | Median leasing days (three months to Feb 2020) | Median rent (three months to Feb 2021) | Median rent (three months to Feb 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busselton | 11 | 23 | $500 per week | $400 per week |
| Albany | 16 | 23 | $380 per week | $360 per week |
| Karratha | 32 | 29 | $700 per week | $650 per week |
| Bunbury | 16 | 32 | $380 per week | $350 per week |
| Esperance | 21 | 25 | $350 per week | $340 per week |
| Broome | 26 | 36 | $575 per week | $600 per week |
| Kalgoorlie-Boulder | 29 | 32 | $400 per week | $350 per week |
| Port Hedland | 30 | 37 | $550 per week | $500 per week |
| Geraldton | 30 | 40 | $350 per week | $300 per week |
| Perth | 20 | 28 | $420 per week | $370 per week |
View more information about regional WA.
