But, Western Australia continues to remain a beacon of stability, with housing prices dropping by just 0.2 per cent across the month. This steadiness has industry experts
foreseeing even greater strength in WA’s property market.
Corelogic Executive, Research Director, Asia-Pacific, Tim Lawless said Perth has been one of the more resilient capital cities to date.
“The Perth market remains reasonably strong, with listings still 31% below the five-year average while the number of home sales over the past three months has continued to track at above average levels,” Mr Lawless said.
“With interest rates set to rise further, we are likely to see some further downwards pressure on housing prices, but Perth is arguably more insulated from a material downturn due to the sheer affordability of housing relative to other capitals, along with strong economic conditions, low unemployment and a positive rate of interstate migration.”
Reiterating Mr Lawless’ sentiment, REIWA President Damian Collins said despite some short-term fluctuations in the market, the Western Australian property market remains in a growth cycle.
“The state’s strong economy, growing population and affordable housing mean we are in a much better position to manage the increased costs of servicing a loan than our east-coast counterparts,” Mr Collins said.
With such strength, Western Australia is now hot on the radar for the country’s opportunistic investors.
Realmark Associate Director of Residential Property Management & Business Development, Emma Thorpe, believes WA’s sheer affordability will continue to pique the interest of interstate buyers.
“Perth’s median house price sits at just $560,000, which in comparison to places like Sydney where the average sits at over $1.3 million, WA is a no-brainer for investors,” Mrs Thorpe said.
“With the current undersupply of property and the recently announced changes to our migration program to encourage people to migrate to WA for employment this could put further pressure on our already tight market.
“Rental yields sit between 3% and 6% and vacancy rates remain extremely low at around 1% and have been for the past 3 years so I am hopeful more local and interstate investors will take advantage of WA’s strong conditions to add much needed rental stock to our local markets.”