The median house price in Perth has dropped $14,000 since March and $30,000 since the beginning of the year, bringing the median price down to below $450,000.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) preliminary results for the June quarter show a 3% fall in median price, pulling the metropolitan median down from $460,000 in March to around $446,000.
The median price peaked at the end of last year at $475,000, said REIWA president Rob Druitt, when the post-boom market was still correcting – but has now been hit by weaker consumer confidence in the overall economy, interest rate uncertainty and petrol prices.
“Perth has experienced an overall slump of almost $30,000 in the median price since the beginning of this year, and the June quarter shows that this slump is found right across the metropolitan area and also that the regions have gone backwards a little too,” Druitt said.
REIWA data for June shows that Mandurah dropped by 7%, Greater Bunbury by 7%, Geraldton-Greenough by 9% and Kalgoorlie by around 5%.
There were 17,200 properties on the market in June, down 2% on March, including 2,450 blocks of land. Druitt said the large number of properties for sale punctured the myth of a housing shortage.
“In WA we have a situation of oversupply – not a problem with undersupply – and this is due to the strength of building activity between 2001 and 2007,” he said.
The once-tight vacancy rate for tenants has now returned to normal, Druitt added, with REIWA recording a comfortable 3% vacancy rate, illustrating how many new properties have flooded into the rental system as investors now found it a difficult time to sell.
“For the first time in several years, tenants should now find it much easier to find a suitable home,” Druitt said.
“There’s much more stock available and much more competition among owners to secure good tenants. However, rents did increase a little in the June quarter, lifting by $10 per week for houses to a median of $350 per week, while units rose by $10 per week to a median of $320 per week.”
