CoreLogics Perth home value index decreased 0.2 per cent in October, the smallest decline out of all capital cities in Australia.
REIWA CEO Cath Hart said the Perth property market continues to be resilient compared to other states and credits the strong Western Australian economy, resources sector and housing affordability.
It is pleasing to see Perth home values were relatively stable in October. To put things into perspective, Brisbanes home value index declined 2.0 per cent and Sydneys declined 1.3 per cent, Ms Hart said.
The main drivers for this are the low level of stock and our affordability, with Perth median house prices the cheapest of any capital city - there is nothing in the Perth property market right now indicating that house prices will fall drastically any time soon.
The top performing suburbs for house price growth in October were Quinns Rocks (up 3.6 per cent to $570,000), Warnbro (up 2.5 per cent to $410,000), Hamilton Hill (up 2.2 per cent to $595,000), Currambine (up 1.9 per cent to $655,000) and Butler (up 1.9 per cent to $420,000).
The other suburbs to record strong house price growth were Pearsall, Rockingham, South Perth, Stirling and Padbury.
Listings for sale
There were 8,169 properties for sale on reiwa.com at the end of October. This is almost identical to last months figure of 8,155 and is 5.9 per cent lower than levels seen a year ago.
We are still experiencing a housing and labour shortage concurrently, which is resulting in good outcomes for sellers but competitive conditions for those wanting to buy, Ms Hart said.
With the population continuing to grow this is adding pressure on an already strained housing market, and it will remain this way until we have more housing stock. This demand for housing is expected to keep market conditions strong.
Time on market
The median time to sell a house was 15 days during October.
reiwa.com data revealed the fastest-selling suburbs in October were Camillo and Golden Bay (five days), followed by Safety Bay, Warnbro, Langford, Orelia, Carlisle, Huntingdale (six days) with Seville Grove and the only north of the river suburb Padbury recording a median of seven days to sell.
We are still seeing Perth houses being snapped up at a remarkable rate, with no indication of it slowing down despite interest rate rises, Ms Hart said.
In a balanced market the median time to sell a home would be 30-40 days, so a median of 15 days really means prospective buyers should have all their ducks in a row to avoid missing out, Ms Hart said.
Perth rental market
Median rent price
Perths median rent price was $500 per week during October, which is $5 more than September.
Rents will continue to rise in Perth while there is a rental shortage. We urgently need more investors in the market to help provide housing and ensure we keep rents affordable, Ms Hart said.
Median leasing times
It took a median of 15 days to lease a rental during October.
Suburbs recording the fastest median leasing times were Hamilton Hill and Hammond Park (seven days), followed by Quinns Rocks (eight days), then Port Kennedy, Coolbellup, Carlisle, Aveley, Beckenham, Applecross (10 days) and Nollamara (11 days).
Listings for rent
There were 1,658 properties for rent on reiwa.com at the end of October, down 3.8 per cent from September, and 23 per cent lower than October 2021.
The rental shortage remains a critical issue for the WA rental market. We have been working with the Government to achieve a sensible outcome to the RTA Review that updates the legislation without scaring off existing owners and would-be investors, as this would add even more pressure to the WA rental market at the worst possible time, Ms Hart said.
Whilst the rental shortage continues to produce significant challenges for many West Aussies, we must not forget how resilient our property market is. We have one of the strongest economies in the world, and the most affordable housing market in the country. These strong demand factors coupled with the low supply suggest that any large price falls predicted for the east coast will just not be the case for WA.
