When should buyers be buying in Perth?

Smart Property Investment asked experts in the Perth market how long potential buyers can put off purchasing property before they miss out on good prices.

Daniel McQuillan, director of Investwise, gives potential buyers six months before supply dwindles away.

“The figures are starting to reflect the fact that there should be some growth. The supply is slowly starting to be eaten away by demand, and we know the more demand picks up, we start to eat away at that supply,” Mr McQuillan said.

“What I’m frightened of is as soon as we see that recovery start to be more forthcoming, that could be six months. We’re starting to string together some more consecutive months of the supply dwindling away through that demand.

“That’s where the best opportunities will be lost, so people want to get out there right now and start to have a look around – should probably start thinking about it pretty soon.”

Nick Wallace, principal at LJ Hooker Applecross, can see prices moving back up as soon as three months, with six [months] at most.

“I don’t think they should wait. I think now’s a good time to buy. Especially, even when you look at the premium suburbs, a lot of the premium suburbs in Perth haven't been this affordable in a very long time,” Mr Wallace said.

“Once everything else starts moving, they’ll start moving, but they’ll recover quicker as well.”

Travis Coleman of ACTON Real Estate pointed out that with the recovery period on the horizon, off-market transactions have been rising in prominence in the Perth market.

“Agents have a buildup of keen buyers to enter a property, but there isn’t enough property that’s actually on the market, so they’re reaching into their database and talking to past clients that they’ve kept in touch with,” Mr Coleman said.

“In recent times, there’s been a far more intensified approach by buyers wanting to make that purchases, and even up until the end of the financial year and into the winter school holiday period, Perth is typically a very quiet time for the market. We’ve actually seen a number of transactions going through across the board.”

In order to make the most of the time before the recovery period, Mr Coleman suggests for investors who are interested in getting into the Perth market to consult with local agents, and to be looking at purchasing property within the next month.

“Talk to your local agent, find out what they have, both actively on the market, but also what properties they may have that are currently off-market, and have a look at making that purchase decision sooner rather than later,” Mr Coleman said.

“What we’re finding at the moment is there is an uplift in price, and there’s increased competition when it comes to buying a property. So clearly getting your finance sorted, and all your inspections sorted before you put in an offer, to make your offer as attractive as possible to the owner, is the best policy.

“You should probably spend a period of two, three weeks to have a look at the market, but within a month’s time frame, you should be making that decision.”