Perth price rise proceeds with June value bump

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president Damian Collins said the institute’s forecasts of 10 per cent growth for 2022 are tracking nicely after the market’s strong performance in the first six months of the year.

“Our members have reported strong market conditions throughout Perth and across all price points over the last 12 months, and that has particularly been the case for the first half of 2022.” 

However, he does note that “as we move through the winter months, it is likely some heat will come out of the market, however, not enough to impact Perth’s overall growth trajectory”. 

The biggest movers were Edgewater, north of Perth, and Riverton, in the city’s south-east, where values jumped 3.3 per cent throughout the month. Median prices in these suburbs now sit at $620,000 and $736,500, respectively, highlighting Perth’s stance as the most affordable capital city in the country.

Mr Collins said this would remain true, even “while increases to the cash rates will have some impact on affordability [as] West Australians are very well positioned to manage these costs”.

Another sign of the strength of the Perth market in June has been the fact that listings rose 2.6 per cent from May, with 8,541 properties listed for sale on the REIWA site at the conclusion of June. 

Yet, according to Mr Collins, competition between buyers will remain high until this figure rises to 12,000 to 13,000 monthly listings, especially as the state’s population increases. This volume of listings would signify a balanced market for the state capital, which would also result in time on market to rise back to 30 to 40 days, rather than the 16 days it took, on average, to sell a Perth home in June. 

Similarly, 16 days was also the amount of time it took to lease a rental property in the city last month, the same pace it would have taken in May. Mr Collins has claimed that the city’s rental market is plagued by a supply shortage.

“The housing shortage is the biggest issue facing the WA rental market. Whilst we have one of the most affordable rental environments in the country, there simply is not enough available rentals to meet tenant demand,” Mr Collins said.

The end of June saw 2,296 properties listed for rent in the West Australian capital, 17.5 per cent less than the same time last year, with median rents sitting at $470 per week. 

Mr Collins concluded that “WA desperately needs an influx of investors to help improve the supply of rentals. It is imperative that no major changes are made to residential tenancy laws during the Residential Tenancies Act review which would discourage investors from buying properties in WA.”