Slowing Perth market still has room to move
While Perth may have passed the peak of its price growth, investors may still find opportunities in the market, a leading property researcher has claimed.
According to data from Australian Property Monitors, Perth median house prices were flat over the March quarter, while unit results fell by 1.4 per cent.
Over the year as a whole, however, Perth growth hit 8.4 per cent for houses and 5.4 per cent for units.
Andrew Wilson from Australian Property Monitors said the market may be losing momentum.
“I would expect we've seen a short-term surge that is now moderating,” he said.
Nonetheless, he believes the city will continue to deliver solid returns into the coming period.
“I would expect price growth to continue in Perth, though certainly not at the rate we've had over the past year,” he said.
“I think it will be closer to five per cent, depending of course on the number of sales and sales activity in particular suburbs.”
He believes the best investments lie in the mid-range of the market.
“I still think there is good buying opportunity between $400,000 and $500,000 within a reasonable proximity of the middle ring suburbs of Perth,” he said.
“Taking a medium to long-term view, I think that most suburbs in Perth have good prospects and the closer you are to the CBD, the better.”
Ultimately, he suggested the market still had some scope for growth over the next 12 months.
“I think we've seen the strongest part of the growth cycle but I think there's certainly still upside growth at a moderate level for most of Perth going forward over the next year or so,” he said.