Double-digit growth over March quarter for this regional area
New data has found that regional Western Australia has seen a boost in its sales price over the March quarter, with one regional centre nearly reaching 20 per cent growth.
Six out of nine regional centres in Western Australia saw an increase in median house price growth over the March 2019 quarter, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).
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Overall, regional WA saw prices rise by 12.8 per cent, which may be a sign that recovery is in sight, according to REIWA president Damian Collins.
“While overall sales volumes remain subdued throughout regional WA, median house sale prices are holding up well, which is an encouraging sign that we may be approaching the bottom of the market,” he said.
The most noteworthy regional centre was Karratha, which rose by 18.8 per cent up to $410,000, Mr Collins said.
“While sales were down in Karratha during the March quarter, the median price of those properties that did sell were notably higher than those that sold in the December quarter,” Mr Collins said.
“Karratha’s median house price is also performing well on an annual basis, up 17.1 per cent compared to the March 2018 quarter.
“After a turbulent few years following the slowdown in the mining sector, Karratha is starting to reap the benefits of renewed investment in mining projects in the Pilbara, which is having a positive impact on house sale prices.”
Rental activity in Karratha has nearly doubled over the last year, Mr Collins also said, which he said could indicate that an improvement in sales is to follow.
“Typically during a recovery, we observe improvements in the rental market before the sales market follows,” Mr Collins said.
Also noteworthy regional centres according to the REIWA were Busselton and Geraldton, which rose by 4.5 per cent and 8.5 per cent over the quarter, respectively, up to $522,500 and $275,000.
Busselton and Geraldton were the other two standouts from the March quarter, with reiwa.com data showing improvements in median price and sales volumes in both regional areas.
“Busselton also showed a median price increase of 4 per cent on an annual basis, which is positive news,” Mr Collins said.
“However, Geraldton’s median price was still down by 1.8 per cent on an annual basis.”
The three regional centres to record declines were Esperance, Kalgoorlie Boulder and Port Hedland, according to the data.
“Although Esperance’s median house price was down, it was one of only three regional centres (along with Busselton and Geraldton) that saw sales volumes increase during the quarter,” Mr Collins said.
The major regional centres, according to the REIWA, saw the following price growth over the March 2019 quarter:
|
Regional centre |
Median house price |
Price growth (as a percentage) |
|
Albany |
$393,500 |
6.4% |
|
Broome |
$448,750 |
3.2% |
|
Bunbury |
$342,000 |
0.1% |
|
Busselton |
$522,500 |
4.5% |
|
Esperance |
$301,000 |
-8.1% |
|
Geraldton |
$275,000 |
8.5% |
|
Kalgoorlie-Boulder |
$299,000 |
-1.2% |
|
Karratha |
$410,000 |
18.8% |
|
Port Hedland |
$230,000 |
-3.5% |
|
Regional WA |
$361,000 |
2.8%
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