The Western Australian capital recorded its highest property sales in the week ending 21 June, hitting over 1,000 transactions for dwellings and vacant land.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), Perth reported 613 home sales and 412 vacant land sales. Both of these figures are significantly higher than the 52-week average.
The sales activity for established homes increased significantly, rising 7% from the preceding week. Land sales, however, recorded the standout gains.
Damian Collins, president of REIWA, said the boom in land sales, which were at their highest level since August 2009, could be attributed to the various government grants and incentives announced earlier this month.
"The schemes have certainly helped people who were undecided about a house-and-land package make their decision quicker, and we will likely see vacant land transactions remain at higher-than-normal levels until the end of the year when the scheme concludes," he said.
Construction poised to recover?
Cath Hart, executive director for Western Australia at the Housing Industry Association (HIA), said the home-building industry of Perth and the state is expected to recover over the next 12 months.
"The revised outlook for the state's home-building sector is a 15% improvement from the financial year 2019-2020, when we did about 13,800 starts, as the sector regains some of the momentum that was starting before COVID-19," Hart said.
The revised outlook took into consideration several factors, including the announcement of the Building Bonus Grant and the HomeBuilder Scheme, the plans to cut red tape in building approvals, and the campaign to encourage interstate fly-in-fly-out workers and their families to settle in the state.
"These measures, plus the unique features of our extraordinary state position Western Australia to come back better, emerging from the global pandemic faster than other states as an attractive destination for business investment and interstate and international migrants," Hart said.
Perth’s Market Indicators Q1
2.3% — Capital gains rate in the apartment segment
$348,500 — Median value of apartments
150 days — Average days-on-market for apartments
5.4% — Gross rental yield for apartments
1% — Decline in housing median value
$527,000 — Median housing price
147 days — Average days-on-market for houses
4.72% — Gross rental yield for houses
Source: Knight Frank Australia June 2020 Residential Review
