Is Perth losing steam? Rising stock signals market turn

Data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) showed Perth’s listings rose 14.8 per cent higher than May, and 58.3 per cent higher than a year ago.

Meanwhile, time on the market extended, with houses spending a median of 18 days in June, four days slower than May and five days slower than a year ago.

Units sold in a median of 18 days, five days slower than May and five days slower than in June 2025.

According to WHITEARCH director Ashby Farrell, buyer demand had plummeted, with only 650 sales occurring in some weeks, compared to the 1,000 properties seen in recent years.

He said, rather than rushing to sell their properties, there were fewer buyers participating in the marketplace, weaning off demand, although turnout at open homes remained solid.

“Buyers are predicting that more stock will keep coming and so are holding out as they think the market’s going to submit – whether or not I agree – but that’s what buyers are thinking,” he told REB.

Farrell said many vendors weren’t selling due to cost pressures, but to reap the benefits of high equity in the market.

“The buyers that buy right now might be getting in before the next demand spike because the sellers will adjust, the buyers will start to see value, and then they’ll all start to want to buy together because they won’t want to miss out,” he said.

As a result of falling demand, prices have steadily been on the decline.

The median house sale price increased 1.1 per cent over the month to $930,000, compared to 2.2 per cent in May.

Meanwhile, median unit sale price rose 1.5 per cent to $670,000, compared to 2.3 per cent.

Farrell said agents had encountered new pricing challenges, with some sellers failing to realise they couldn’t achieve the same figures that similar properties did at the start of the year.

“It’s been a lot harder to explain to sellers that the prices that people achieved in January, February, and March, they don’t really exist right now because buyers have a lot more options,” he said.

He said that, as opposed to putting prices up and hoping the property will sell, agents needed to have honest conversations with sellers based on current market data.

“If you do that, buyers will engage. We are definitely going through a phase right now where buyers are not engaging because sellers still want what was happening three or four months ago.”

“But there’s still plenty of people coming to opens – it’s not like the open homes are getting zeros.”

Ultimately, Farrell projected that property prices were likely to continue to stall or drop as a result of the recent surge in listings.

“We know that February, March was the absolute peak of the Perth market in this current cycle that we’re in, that’s essentially fact at this point.”

When it came to the rental market, median house and unit rent prices remained stable in June, with the median weekly rent for houses remaining unchanged at $750, but 10.3 per cent higher than a year ago.

The median weekly rent for units was also stable at $700, 5.3 per cent higher than in June 2025.

Farrell said he was still seeing strong rental demand, with properties leasing quickly, while opportunities for property managers remained.

“We’ve had a number of owners taking their principal place of residence and converting it into an investment property, and they were moving elsewhere.”

At the same time, he had seen a number of investors, closer to retirement, opting to leave the market after deciding they no longer wanted to invest.

Ultimately, Farrell projected the Perth market would remain flat in the lead-up to Spring, with stock to rise further unless sellers adjusted their pricing.

“Or if vendors can’t sell it to achieve their goal, they’ll just remove it from the market and put a tenant back in it, so I think the stock could come out of the market just as quickly as it came.”