Geraldton Leads Regional House Price Growth Again

Geraldton was the top performing regional centre for the June 2025 quarter, according to the latest REIWA data.

Its median house sale price rose 5.1 per cent to $520,000, up from $495,000 in the March 2025 quarter.

It was the third consecutive quarter that Geraldton recorded the strongest price growth among the regional centres.

The Geraldton regional centre was also the top performer over the year, with its median house sale price increasing 26.8 per cent since the June 2024 quarter.

REIWA Regional Spokesperson Joe White said the Geraldton regional centre's continued strong growth was being driven by strong demand from both owner occupiers and investors, and ongoing constraints in the building industry.

"There is a lot of infrastructure investment in and around Geraldton that is providing employment opportunities. This includes the hospital expansion, port works, road works, Oakajee industrial area, and wind farms," he said.

"This is retaining current residents and attracting people to the region, which is boosting the demand for housing.

"Geraldton is also an attractive FIFO base, with workers and their families living locally and flying up to the Pilbara for their swing. For FIFO workers, Geraldton's appeal lies in its affordable housing when compared to the Pilbara, lifestyle and amenities, such as a great choice of schools.

"While the region is seeing strong demand for housing, the cost and extended timeframes of building a new home are focusing this demand on the established homes market and putting upward pressure on prices.

"At the moment, with the investment in the area and demand, we expect prices to continue to increase."

The market conditions in the Geraldton regional centre have brought a range of challenges.

"Five years ago, the median house sale price in the Geraldton regional centre was $265,500, and a year ago it was $410,000," Mr White said.

"While members tell us first home buyers are active in the market, the strong growth in prices has caught some by surprise and requires a larger financial commitment than they may have expected.

"Eastern States investors also remain active and have increased their budgets.

"We are seeing a very competitive market, with houses selling in a median of 18 days, up from 69 days a year ago.

"Conditions are challenging for potential sellers, who are at a competitive disadvantage if they are making offers subject to the sale of their home. While their property is likely to sell quickly, they are often overlooked in favour of buyers with subject to finance or cash offers."

Mr White said demand was strongest for homes in the $650,000 to $700,000 price bracket.

"Members report the suburbs of Wandina, Drummond Cove, Glenfield and Sunset Beach are particularly popular," he said.

"These areas are close to the beach, good schools and shopping centres. They also have newer, more modern housing, which is particularly attractive to investors as they prefer properties that are likely to require less maintenance."

Regional rental market

In the rental market, the median weekly rent price rose in five regional centres over the quarter. It was unchanged in two and declined in two.

Karratha saw the most growth, with its median weekly rent increasing 18.2 per cent to $1,300. It was also the top performer over the year, recording a 30.0 per cent increase.

Mr White said there were a lot of projects underway around the Karratha regional centre, which were creating employment opportunities that attracted people to the area.

"According to the Pilbara Development Commission, there is an investment pipeline of $177 billion of projects in the region to the early 2030s. The Commission expects Karratha's residential population to increase by 7,500 over this time, which will maintain the demand for rental properties," he said.

"Our members expect the rental market to strengthen further over the next 12 to 18 months. However, they're not expecting a boom such as that seen in 2012.

"Longer term, some of the pressure on the rental market may ease slightly with the State Government and the City of Karratha building new homes for their workers."

Mr White said demand was particularly strong for three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes.

"As the Karratha regional centre is experiencing strong rent price growth, three-bedroom homes are a more affordable option than four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes, and are still an appropriate size for family living," he said.

As he comes to the end of his term as REIWA's Regional Spokesperson, Mr White noted population growth and the constraints in the building industry had created a range of issues across all the regional centres in the past few years.

"While growth may be slowing in some areas now, we've seen significant sale price growth in the past five years," he said.

"This has made it much harder for first home buyers to enter the market, particularly in the very popular South West areas like Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River, where median prices are higher than the Perth median house sale price.

"In the regional rental markets, rising prices and low supply have created a situation I haven't seen before in my 30 years in the industry. It's challenging for anyone looking for a rental, but I'm deeply concerned for the more vulnerable in our society, for whom the private rental market has become unaffordable and social housing is unavailable."

Median house price growth

Median weekly rent