Figures from the December Quarter released today by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), continue to show a booming local market in defiance of the downturn on the east coast.
REIWA President Greg Rossen said that a combination of steady, low interest rates and WA's vibrant resources sector was largely behind the growth in demand and prices.
Metropolitan Market
"The price for a home in metropolitan Perth has risen by almost 5 per cent in the quarter ending 31st December, taking the new median to $325,000", Mr Rossen said.
Perth is now ranked fourth in Australia for median house prices among the nation's capital cities, coming in behind Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra respectively.
"We are experiencing a strong and steady run in the market which continues to be fuelled by a strong demand for owner occupation and rental accommodation and bottlenecks in the supply of new homes.
"House prices have increased by 18 per cent over the last year and rents have jumped by 25 per cent over the same period, including a 6 per cent jump in the last quarter alone", Mr Rossen said.
The residential construction industry is at capacity but struggling with the skills shortage and approval delays and cannot keep up with demand. The number of dwellings available for sale in Perth was recently 8,080, down from 9,163 in the September quarter, a drop of 12 per cent for the last three months of last year.
Mr Rossen said the vacancy rate for rental accommodation remained around 1.6 per cent for the second quarter in a row with the median rent in Perth rising by around $44 per week since December 2004.
"The median price for a unit or apartment in Perth is now $258,000, up 4 per cent in the quarter and up by $38,000 from a year ago.
"The number of selling days has dropped from 45 in the September quarter to just 37 in the December quarter. Overall, this is down 20 per cent over the year and illustrates that properties are moving very quickly", Mr Rossen said.
Regional Market
In regional areas continued strong growth was also evident, particularly in coastal areas and in the State's Southwest.
"Areas such as Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Geraldton and Albany continue to record strong growth, while several outback places such as Norseman, Newman, Port Hedland, Roebourne and Carnarvon have burst onto the scene as hot property with mining companies attracting new workers all needing places to live," Mr Rossen said.
While the median price for houses outside of the metropolitan area was lower at $310,000, these prices are growing at a faster rate than the city and are up almost 22 per cent on last year.
"Prices of vacant lots of residential land in regional WA are rising even more strongly, up 23 per cent on last year and now valued at a median of $166,000", Mr Rossen said.
Mr Rossen said that if the economic conditions remained healthy then the property market was likely to continue with its current trends further into the year.
