Western Australia’s property market is showing a positive outlook as six of the state’s regional centres record an increase in median house sale price during the March quarter.
Karratha posted the most notable improvement, with its median climbing by 18.8% from $345,000 to $410,000.
Sales dropped in Karratha during the quarter, but the median price of those properties that did sell was significantly higher than those that sold in the December quarter, according to the data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).
Karratha’s median house price is also performing well on an annual basis, up by 17.1% compared to the March 2018 quarter.
“After a turbulent few years following the slowdown in the mining sector, Karratha is starting to reap the benefits of renewed investment in mining projects in the Pilbara, which is having a positive impact on house sale prices,” said REIWA President Damian Collins. “Leasing activity in Karratha’s rental market has almost doubled over the last year, which is a good indicator that an improvement in sales is not too far behind. Typically during a recovery, we observe improvements in the rental market before the sales market follows.”
REIWA identified Busselton and Geraldton as the other two standouts, with both of their median price and sales volumes rising in the March quarter.
Busselton’s median house sale price increased by 4.5% to $522,500, while sales rebounded by 56% compared to figures in the December quarter. Busselton also showed a median price increase of 4% on an annual basis.
Geraldton’s median house sale price, meanwhile, jumped by 8.5% to $275,000. Sales were up by 6%, but Geraldton’s median price was still down by 1.8% on a yearly basis.
Esperance, Kalgoorlie Boulder and Port Hedland were the only regional centres to record median house price declines during the quarter.
“Although Esperance’s median house price was down, it was one of only three regional centres (along with Busselton and Geraldton) that saw sales volumes increase during the quarter,” Collins said. “While overall sales volumes remain subdued throughout regional WA, median house sale prices are holding up well, which is an encouraging sign that we may be approaching the bottom of the market.”
Data from REIWA
