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Sales activity in Perth was subdued during the March 2019 quarter; however, new data from the REIWA shows that the median prices there held up well.
REIWA president Damian Collins said that, while the Perth property market remained challenging for sellers, there had been no further declines to median house and unit prices during the March quarter.
“The March quarter results suggest median property prices in Perth are at or nearing the bottom of the market,” he said.
“On the ground, information from our members suggests that the middle and higher end of the market is tracking reasonably well, signalling some suburbs in this part of the market may be in the early stages of recovery.”
Median
Mr Collins said that Perth’s median house price increased by 0.6 of a percentage point to $500,000 in the March quarter.
“On an annual basis, median house prices in Perth are stable, with no change recorded between the March 2018 and 2019 quarters, which is positive,” he said.
“Similarly, Perth’s unit median price is also stable, holding at $380,000 during the quarter.”
Reiwa.com analysis showed that 37 per cent of suburbs in Perth experienced stable or median house price growth during the quarter.
“The Perth suburbs to record the most notable increase in median house price this quarter were Falcon, Karrinyup, Mullaloo, Roleystone and Heathridge, while the top suburbs for median unit price growth were Rockingham, Scarborough, South Perth and Como,” Mr Collins said.
Activity
The data also showed that there were 6,636 properties sold during the March quarter.
“Activity in Perth remains subdued, with sales volumes down on both a quarterly and annual basis. With a federal election looming, it’s not surprising volumes haven’t picked up yet. Elections are an uncertain time and typically have an impact on property markets,” Mr Collins said.
“The changing housing market conditions on the east coast have also likely impacted buyer activity in Perth. There has been a lot of focus on Sydney and Melbourne’s declining housing markets, which would be affecting buyer sentiment in WA.”
The data showed that 10 per cent of suburbs experienced stable or increased volumes, and 70 per cent sold below $600,000.
“The suburbs that recorded the most notable increase in sales during the quarter were Yanchep, Manning, Mullaloo, Sorrento and Aveley,” Mr Collins said.
“This is up from 64 per cent in the December 2018 quarter, which indicates affordability continues to improve in Perth, presenting excellent opportunities for first home buyers, trade-up buyers, downsizers and investors to secure a good deal.”
Listings
There were 16,957 properties for sale on reiwa.com at the end of the March quarter.
Mr Collins said that the March quarter listings figure represented a 6 per cent increase on the December 2018 quarter figure.
“It’s quite common to see listing volumes increase in the March quarter. We typically observe a decline in listing stock in the lead-up to the festive season, before levels rebound early in the New Year,” Mr Collins said.
On average, it took vendors 78 days to sell their property in the March quarter, while 57 per cent of vendors needed to offer a discount on their original asking price to achieve a sale.
“More sellers needed to offer a discount in the March quarter than they did during the December quarter; however, the average amount they offered held stable at 7.3 per cent,” Mr Collins said.
“It’s also worth noting that a significant portion (43 per cent) of Perth sellers are achieving sale prices at or above their original asking price, which suggests many vendors are heeding the advice of their real estate agent and pricing their properties in line with market expectations.”
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