Perth property market set new records in 2022-23

The 2022-23 financial year was a year of new milestones for the Perth property market.

“Despite multiple interest rate rises, 2022-23 saw house prices rise with new records set for the time to sell a property, the rental vacancy rate and rent prices,” REIWA CEO Cath Hart said.

“Resilience was the key theme for the WA property market in 2022-23 with Perth emerging as the only capital city to record moderate price growth over the financial year despite constant interest rate rises.

“This is due to our strong economy, low unemployment rate, lower than average mortgages and higher than average wages. While the rate rises have certainly impacted household spending, many people have been able to adjust to the increase in their repayments.

“Currently, we’re not seeing an increase in mortgagee sales advertised on www.reiwa.com and we’re advised banks are working with their customers to help prevent them experiencing hardship.”

The Perth house market performed better than the unit market, with the median house price rising 4.6 per cent to a new high of $555,000 over the financial year. The median unit price fell 3.2 per cent to $399,000.

Winthrop recorded the most price growth for houses, with its median increasing 25.3 per cent to $1.25 million.

Ms Hart said there were key differences in the makeup of the Top 10 suburbs for price growth to the previous financial year.

“Six of the suburbs in this year’s Top 10 were under the median house price whereas last year none were under the median house price and nine were priced over $1 million,” she said.

“All the suburbs on last year’s list recorded growth of more than 26 per cent, while this year none saw that level of growth and only three recorded growth over 20 per cent.

“The WA market has seen moderate growth overall and very strong growth in some suburbs, however the rate of growth has slowed over the past 12 months.

“It’s not a concern, as steady growth is preferable to significant jumps in prices.

“What I would say to people who look at their suburb and perhaps notice a decline in its median price this year is to look back over previous years. It may have seen exceptional growth a year ago and is just coming down off a high. They can review the trends on www.reiwa.com.”

In the unit market, Bibra Lake was the top performer, with its median rising 32.6 per cent to $315,000. Booragoon also recorded growth over 30 per cent.

Notably, half of the suburbs in the top 10 for unit price growth were under the median unit price.

Ms Hart said 2022-23 was a year that saw houses sell incredibly quickly, with a new monthly record of a median 10 days on market set in June.

The fastest selling suburb for houses was Leda, where homes sold in a median of five days over the financial year.

“Affordability was also a focus for buyers in 2022-23 with the end-of-year data revealing that all of the Top 10 fastest selling suburbs were well below the Perth median house price.

“It’s a big change from last year’s Top 10, where all the suburbs were over the Perth median house price at that time - the rise in interest rates has clearly played a role in this trend.

“While buyers have acted swiftly when they found a suitable house, they were also being prudent.

“They’ve seen their borrowing capacity reduced significantly in the past year, so this outcome signals they’re factoring in the possibility of more rate rises and are spending wisely.”

Baldivis was the fastest selling suburb for units, with a median 12 days on market for the financial year.