40 Per Cent Real Estate Sales Jump For Perth Property Market
Author: Daniel / Category: Real Estate DealsThe Perth property market staged a strong comeback in the March quarter according to new data released today by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA.com.au).
According to REIWA, Perth’s median house price has jumped by $10,000 since December last year, lifting the current median price to $430,000.
Perth Real Estate sales volumes have returned to a 15 year average following the doldrums of 2008.
REIWA President Rob Druitt said that WA’s property market experienced its strongest turnover since September 2007 with the number of sales increasing by more than 40 per cent since December.
While the Federal Government’s First Home Buyer Boost has been a major reason behind this renewed activity, there is also evidence that trade-up buyers are returning to the market, Mr Druitt said.
Perth also recorded an increase in unit prices, lifting by just under 2 per cent to a median of $348,500.
Blocks of residential land also saw growth in the March quarter, increasing by 4.5 per cent, up by $10,000, to reach a median value of $230,000, largely attributed to first home builders.
Mr Druitt claimed the turnaround in real estate sales during the quarter was astounding, with strong evidence indicating the number of property sales for March were in fact 85 per cent higher than that acheived in December last year.
This increase in sales was experienced across all market sectors, particularly the coastal region from Scarborough to Butler and in the South East corridor in the Canning and Gosnells local government areas.
Much of the increase in the overall median was driven by price growth in the middle ring and coastal markets such as Wanneroo North West (5 per cent), Wanneroo South (7.6 per cent), Stirling West (4 per cent), Bayswater-Bassendean (1.9 per cent), Gosnells (3.6 per cent), and Cockburn (3.3 per cent).
In contrast, some inner markets saw a fall in prices, including the Western Suburbs (-12.5 per cent) and Vincent (-3.1 per cent), while Armadale-Serpentine on Perth’s outer fringe also fell by 2.1 per cent,Mr Druitt said.
The number of homes for sale in Perth has been progressively falling from the over-supply of March 2008. The figure dropped from 17,500 dwellings in March last year to 14,300 at the end of April.
This slide in the number of listings suggests that the excess stock built by speculators during the boom is likely to evaporate by the middle of this year, and probably triggering fresh construction, Mr Druitt said.
Perth’s rental vacancy rate has eased to 2.9 percent, a figure that historically is normal for the city. This has reduced the pressure on rents which have remained stable now for six months, resting at a median price of $360 per week spread across both units and houses.
Mr Druitt said it was a similar positive story in regional WA, where house prices had also jumped by $10,000, or 2.9 per cent, in the quarter.
A typical house in regional WA will now cost you $350,000, while units in the regions have jumped by almost 7 per cent, or $20,000, to a new median of $310,000.
However, uin contrast to Perth city, land prices remained relatively stable, gaining approximately $2,000 to a median block value of $155,000, Mr Druitt said.
According to REIWA data, there were approximately 15,000 properties on the market during the March quarter, reduced from around 16,000 properties in December.
The number of days taken to sell a property is steady at 76 days, therefore it’s taking about two and half months to sell a property in the current market. This is 5 days more than the same time last year
However, it is a patchy market and some areas such as Armadale, Gosnells and Wanneroo South have seen selling days come down quite a bit,Mr Druitt said.
Mr Druitt said it was very hard to predict how the June quarter might fare, as the winter months were traditionally very quiet for the sector.
The Rudd Government’s extension through to 30 September of the first homebuyer boost will have an impact, and so too will rates of unemployment and overall consumer sentiment.
That said, it is clear that the robustness of the current market is providing many keen buyers plenty of opportunities to keep them motivated, Mr Druitt said.













