WA’s top regional rental markets revealed

According to reiwa.com data, the median time to lease a rental in Busselton was 11 days during the three months to February 2021 – nine days faster than the Perth median for the same period and 12 days quicker than in the same period a year earlier.

REIWA president Damian Collins attributed the speed at which vacant rental are being tenanted to the reduction of available rental properties in the area due to the rental shortage affecting the state.

“This has caused increased competition among tenants in Busselton and put upwards pressure on the regional centre’s median rent price, which increased by $100 a week to $500 when compared to the three months to February 2020,” Mr Collins said.

REIWA data showed that the other regional centres to record median leasing times below the Perth figure during the three months to February 2021 were Albany and Bunbury at 16 days each.

“Albany’s median leasing time has quickened by seven days when comparing the three months to February 2021 to the three months to February 2020, while the median leasing time in Bunbury reduced by 16 days when comparing those same time frames,” Mr Collins said.

Among the top 10 were:

Drilling down to suburb level within regional WA, 10 suburbs emerged as potential investment heavens based on their median leasing times in the three months to February 2021.

According to REIWA, the 10 regional suburbs with the fastest median leasing are Australind (15 days), Eaton (15 days), Bridgetown (16 days), Spencer Park (17 days), Bunbury (21 days), Newman (23 days), Kalgoorlie (24 days), Bulgarra (26 days), Cable Beach (26 days) and Wandina (29 days).

“Regional WA, like Perth, is suffering from a rental shortage and needs an influx of investor activity to inject more private rental stock into the market and help house the growing number of tenants across the state who are searching for a rental,” Mr Collins concluded.