Phil's Property Corner - Is it good news for Perth property?

June 04, 2020 by Rebecca Crommelin

Well it's officially winter, but things still appear to be heating up in the Perth property market. Phil Bertram from Candour Property Group talks us through some good signs of the Perth property market maintaining it's momentum as restrictions ease. Check it out below. 

The past month has been one of quietly emerging from an unusual hibernation for many of us, the Perth property market has reflected exactly this sentiment. The median price was marginally down (by 0.4%) to $475,000, however sales activity is starting to increase again, up 43.1% from April. The median rent price was stable at $350 per week and leasing activity is also up by 27.1%. You can find REIWA’s May property market update here, some initial good signs of the Perth market maintaining its momentum from before the forced slowdown.

PerthNow once again has an interesting article on the state of the Western Australian property market against the backdrop of how the market is faring Australia wide. Bear in mind that they’re using statistics from CoreLogic, so there are small discrepancies with REIWA’s numbers. In this article they particularly highlight that there has been a rise in new listings onto the market, consistent with a rise in consumer sentiment as the restrictions start to ease in WA. The pleasing thing to hear is that overall listings continue to decrease, indicating that there is a good appetite amongst buyers, continuing to chip into the available supply of properties for sale in Perth. Their article can be found here.

CoreLogic has also published an article referring to a similar phenomenon, commenting that the Perth market was beginning to build some momentum in March, just ahead of the forced slowdown with COVID-19. They further discuss that Perth appears to have been impacted less by job losses, given that a smaller percentage of our population work in the most effected industries such as accommodation and food services and arts and recreation services sectors. Hopefully as the restrictions ease and businesses start re-opening we will find that we have come through with less economic damage than most and less negatively impacted people. You can find their article here.

‘Perth property market recovery delayed but not destroyed: REIWA’ is quite an attractive headline for this article. WAToday focusses more on the calls by industry bodies for the WA government to explore reforming stamp duty or other large costs that are involved in the property market. They also explore the fact that there are 30% less listings on the market at the moment than there were this time last year, another good sign of some underlying momentum in this market.

If you would like to discuss any of the above and how it applies to you, we are here to help. To arrange for Phil to call you please email him with your name and contact number on phil@candourproperty.com.au and he’ll be in touch.