While the week ending 17th May saw house prices dip by -0.1% across Perth as per CoreLogic data, over the course of the past month, values went unchanged. Throughout April, values lifted by 0.2% across the westerly capital, bringing the median house price to $448,355.
President of REIWA, Damian Collins, says in a media address that there has been continual reductions each month in both the amount of properties up for sale and rent, ‘to currently sit at a six year low’ in WA.
“Perth’s property market has been showing signs of recovery since October 2019 and while COVID-19 may delay this, it most likely won’t stop it,” Collins says.
“The state’s economy is coming back much quicker than many experts thought and as long as it continues to recover, it is unlikely the property market recovery will be reversed.”
He adds that lower supply and a drop in seller discounting should work to avoid “any major downward price pressure” over the coming months.
Meanwhile, A $150m housing investment package is set to help prevent further reductions in Western Australia’s building pipeline.
Western Australia has already reported a 50 percent reduction in home building pipeline as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA). The Housing Industry Forecasting Group recently reduced its forecast for new dwelling commencements in WA for 2019-20 by 19% – from 15,500 to 12,500, the lowest level ever, adjusting for population.
“Supporting and sustaining job-creating sectors such as construction through the pandemic will be vital for economic recovery. It will create much-needed additional activity across the residential building supply chain,” says Cath Hart, HIA executive director for WA.
The immediate focus of the stimulus, originally scheduled to begin in 2020-21, is on refurbishing 70 homes across the metropolitan and regional areas. Construction of up to 500 social and affordable homes will come on line as the package unfolds. The package includes $19.2 million for 200 additional shared equity homes, delivered in partnership with Keystart.
