Property prices and rents continued to rise in January

Both median house and unit sale prices rose in January.

Houses recorded a median sale price of $600,000, up 1.7 per cent on the $590,000 reported for December and 9.9 per cent higher than January 2023.

The median unit sale price increased 0.5 per cent over the month to $410,000. This was 2.2 per cent higher year-on-year.

REIWA CEO Cath Hart said it had been a fairly slow start to the year in terms of sales, with the number of sales 14.1 per cent lower than December 2023 and 20.3 per cent lower than the same time last year.

“January is usually a quieter month, and sales were very low in the first couple of weeks of the month, with many people enjoying holidays rather than looking at property,” Ms Hart said.

“However sales activity and the number of new listings rose towards the end of the month. Last year sales in most of the price brackets bounced back to around pre-Christmas levels by mid-February and we’re likely to see that again this year.”

The suburbs that saw the most growth in January were Mindarie (up 3.7 per cent to $933,500), Como (up 3.0 per cent to $1,122,500), Camillo (up 2.4 per cent to $420,000), Armadale (up 2.4 per cent to $389,000) and Bull Creek (up 1.8 per cent to $945,250).

Yangebup, Yanchep, Joondalup, Aveley and Caversham were also among the top performers, recording growth of 1.6 per cent or more over the month.

Listings for sale

Active listings* remained at near-record lows, settling at 3,738 at the end of January. This was 2.5 per cent higher than December 2023, but 46.2 per cent lower than a year ago.

“Residential property in Perth is being both listed and sold above the five-year average, however the sheer speed of sales is keeping the number of properties available on www.reiwa.com (active listings) at historically low levels,” Ms Hart said.

Time on market

Houses sold in a median of nine days in January, one day faster than December and 15 days faster than a year ago.

According to www.reiwa.com data, the fastest selling suburbs were Secret Harbour and Wellard (four days); Beeliar, Warnbro, Banksia Grove, Dayton, Dianella, Forrestfield and Waikiki (five days); and Greenfields (six days).

The growing demand for units was reflected in its falling time on market, recording a median of 13 days in January, compared with 43 days 12 months ago.

Perth rental market

Rent prices also continued their upward trend in January.

The median dwelling rent rose to $615 per week, 2.5 per cent higher than December and 18.3 per cent higher than a year ago.

The median weekly rent for houses rose to $640, a 3.2 per cent increase month-on-month and 16.4 per cent higher than January 2023. The median unit rent also rose, up 1.8 per cent over the month and 20.8 per cent over the year to $580 per week.

According to www.reiwa.com, the suburbs that saw the most growth in their median weekly rent price in January were Attadale (up 35 per cent to $880), North Coogee (up 32 per cent to $790), Orelia (up 25 per cent to $520), Nedlands (up 22 per cent to $1,100), and Dianella (up 22 per cent to $700).

Ms Hart said more increases were likely.

“There is no doubt this is a very challenging market for tenants and will continue to be so for some time,” she said.

Listings for rent

There were 1,913 properties available for rent on www.reiwa.com at the end of January, a welcome increase of 26 per cent on December and 2.1 per cent higher than the same time last year.

“This is positive news for tenants looking for a property, but we’d want to see several months of increasing listings and a consistent rise in the vacancy rate before calling a change in the rental market,” Ms Hart said.

“There were signs of improvement mid-last year, with listings and the vacancy rate rising, but the market tightened again towards the end of the year.

“What we are starting to see is a change in household sizes in response to the market.

“While COVID saw the average number of tenants per household decline as people sought their own space, the current situation is seeing household sizes increase as tenants join forces to deal with rising rent prices and the difficulty in finding a home.”

Median leasing times

Homes leased in a median of 16 days during January, one day slower than December and 12 months ago.

www.reiwa.com data showed the suburbs recording the fastest median leasing times were Leederville (seven days); Shenton Park (eight days); East Fremantle and Joondanna (nide days); and Coolbellup, Thornlie, Forrestfield, Harrisdale, Innaloo and Karrinyup (10 days).

* Active listings – the number of properties advertised on www.reiwa.com at any given time. New listings – new properties listed for sale.