WA’s top-performing regional markets revealed
Regional Western Australia is booming, with price growth and soaring sales activity recorded in a majority of the nine centres, but consequently almost all regional markets are now in a state of rental undersupply.
Regional Western Australia is experiencing a real price boom, with as many as eight centres trumping December 2019 quarter house price growth figures in December 2020.
Moreover, seven of the nine centres experienced median house price growth from September to December 2020.
According to REIWA president Damian Collins, Port Hedland saw the biggest improvement, with the median price up 9.3 per cent on the quarter and 17 per cent on the year to $270,000.
“Esperance was another strong performer, with its median increasing to $343,000, an increase of 3.9 per cent during the quarter and 9.8 per cent compared with the December 2019 quarter,” Mr Collins said.
Sales activity posted strong growth, too, with as many as five regional centres recording a boost during the quarter. Karratha and Geraldton were the standouts with sales activity growth of 15 and 12 per cent, respectively, according to REIWA.
The other centres to record improvements were Port Hedland (up 7 per cent), Albany (up 4 per cent) and Kalgoorlie-Boulder (up 1 per cent).
“Overall, the regional sales markets are showing strong signs of recovery, with mining sectors like Port Hedland and Karratha leading the way. This is in part due to the commitment by mining companies to keep their workers in WA as they continue to navigate the COVID-19 travel restrictions,” Mr Collins said.
“With the fallout of COVID-19 changing how we do business, Western Australians are increasingly able to work remotely and therefore have more freedom to choose where they want to live. It will be interesting to see whether this translates to longer-term regional population growth,” he noted.
Listings for rent constrict
But strong demand has seen rental listings decline in seven regional centres during the December quarter, with almost all regional WA markets now in a state of undersupply.
Among the most restricted markets were Busselton and Bunbury, with listings down 36 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
“With fewer rentals available across regional WA, tenants were having to offer more weekly rent to secure a lease. Port Hedland and Karratha recorded the biggest quarterly increase in rent price, with their median rents up $55 to $550 per week and $50 to $700 per week, respectively,” Mr Collins said.
He also noted subdued investor activity as a major contributor to a drop in vacancy rates to below 1 per cent.
“Investors may want to consider regional WA as part of their investment portfolio rather than just focusing on Perth,” Mr Collins concluded.
|
REGIONAL CENTRE |
MEDIAN HOUSE SALE PRICE |
QUARTERLY CHANGE IN MEDIAN PRICE |
ANNUAL CHANGE IN MEDIAN PRICE |
MEDIAN RENT PRICE |
|
Albany |
$380,000 |
1.3% |
1.3% |
$370 per week |
|
Broome |
$480,000 |
1.2% |
6.7% |
$598 per week |
|
Bunbury |
$355,000 |
1.4% |
1.4% |
$363 per week |
|
Busselton |
$505,000 |
1.1% |
-0.2% |
$470 per week |
|
Esperance |
$343,000 |
3.9% |
9.8% |
$350 per week |
|
Geraldton |
$275,000 |
0.0% |
3.8% |
$320 per week |
|
Kalgoorlie-Boulder |
$295,000 |
1.7% |
1.7% |
$380 per week |
|
Karratha |
$470,000 |
0.0% |
17.5% |
$700 per week |
|
Port Hedland |
$270,000 |
9.3% |
17.4% |
$550 per week
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