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A weekend of interruptions has ended a slow September for Perth despite a pick-up in the last weekend of the month. However, experts believe the slight pick-up is largely due to Perth not having a team in the AFL grand final and the Royal Show.
Overall figures paint a different picture for Perth. Sales for the quarter are down seven per cent when compared with the June quarter and down 15 per cent when compared with the same period last year.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president David Airey said that in the final weekend of September more people got away from the television and went house hunting due to the lack of a Perth team in the AFL grand final.
“Actually, it’s always the case that September is a slow sales month, with Father’s Day, various sporting finals, the Royal Show and the long weekend interrupting things,” Mr Airey said.
“Despite some modest monthly variations, there has been very little movement in the Perth median house price between recent quarters, with Landgate data, for example, indicating a revised median for the June quarter of around $541,000.
“The lift in the monthly median reflected a compositional shift in sales with a small increase in turnover closer to the city and some weakness in outer urban markets… this may be a result of the numbers of first home buyers slipping away.”
Areas around Perth that have seen a pick-up in September sales include eastern and western parts of Stirling, Fremantle, Vincent, Melville and Kwinana. Weaker activity occurred in Joondalup and Belmont.
The rental market has softened since June, according to Mr Airey, who said typical figures are between $10 and $15 less per week than they were in June.
RP Data analyst Cameron Kush said the Perth market is feeling the effects of the slowdown in the mining economy, but not from miners or mining firms leaving the area; associated professionals such as lawyers and engineers are not paying for executive level rentals.
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