However, city "urgently needs" more investors to combat rental shortage, peak body says
Fifty-six (56) Perth suburbs posted median house sale price growth in August despite CoreLogic’s Perth home value index falling 0.2%, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.
REIWA president Damian Collins said that despite the minor drop in the home value index, Perth was holding up well, particularly compared to other capital cities.
“We anticipate there will be fluctuations month to month in the overall Perth figures as buyers adjust to interest rates rising,” Collins said. “However, Western Australia’s strong economy, growing population and housing shortage point to the current growth cycle continuing. At a suburb level, reiwa.com data reflects feedback from REIWA agents who continue to report fierce competition for properties and good outcomes for sellers on the ground. This is evidenced by the 56 suburbs that saw median house sale price growth during the month.”
The five suburbs posting the biggest price increases during August were Maida Vale (up 3.1% to $593,750), Cooloongup (up 2.6% to $370,000), Hillarys (up 2.5% to $1.005 million), Southern River (up 2.2% to $625,000) and Orelia (up 1.9% to $327,500).
There were 8,391 properties for sale on reiwa.com at the end of August, a 1.8% drop from July.
“The housing shortage that has gripped the state for the last couple of years continues to affect the residential sales market and is a key factor behind the strong competition buyers are experiencing,” Collins said.
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The median time to sell a house was 17 days in August, one day slower than the previous month and one day faster than August 2021.
“Properties are still selling very quickly across the Perth region, which is not surprising given listings for sale are still low,” Collins said. “Buyers need to act quickly and present a competitive offer in order to secure a property.”
According to reiwa.com data, the fastest-selling suburbs in August were Orelia (six days), Greenfields (seven days), Merriwa (seven days), Parmelia (seven days), and Cooloongup (eight days).
Rents continued to rise during August. Perth’s median rental price for the month was $480 per week, up $10 per week from July.
“Rents will continue to rise in Perth while there is a rental shortage,” Collins said. “We urgently need more investors in the market to help provide housing and ensure we keep rents affordable.”
There were 1,907 properties for rent on reiwa.com at the end of August, a 15% drop from the previous month.
“The fact is there are not enough available rentals in Perth to keep up with demand. This is creating an extremely competitive and challenging rental environment for tenants,” Collins said. “Unfortunately, this situation will only worsen if major changes are made to WA’s residential tenancy laws that would remove an owner’s right to make decisions about their property. We need to focus on addressing the rental shortage and housing supply issues, not introducing legislation that would further discourage investors from buying in WA.”
