PEOPLE looking for places to rent in the State's regional centres continue to face slim pickings and peak prices.
Data provided by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) this week showed trends in the rental market in WA's regional areas are mirroring that of Perth, with rents in Broome, Bunbury, Busselton and Kalgoorlie/ Boulder sitting at record highs for the current quarter.
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If you are looking for a place to rent in Broome, the median rental price currently sits at $850, $475 in Bunbury, $600 in Busselton and $490 in Kalgoorlie/Boulder.
These prices can be compared to recent quarterly lows of $385 per week in Broome for the second quarter of 2021, $305 in Bunbury and $365 in Busselton, both recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018, and $325 in Kalgoorlie in the first quarter of 2020.
Meanwhile most of the median rental prices for the other regional centres sit just below their previous quarterly high records, with Albany coming in at $395 per week, renters paying $325 in Esperance and $350 in Geraldton.
The number of active rental listings in regional centres as of Monday this week were 17 in Albany, 38 in Broome, 56 in Bunbury, 10 in Busselton, four in Esperance, 30 in Geraldton and 82 in the Kalgoorlie/Boulder.
The number of rentals available in Bunbury had increased by 20 from December, by 14 in Kalgoorlie/Boulder and by three in Busselton, while the number of rentals available in Geraldton and Esperance decreased by eight and one respectively.
The number of rentals available in Albany and Broome remain the same as the previous month.
According to REIWA data in December, the rental vacancy rate in Albany sat at 0.3pc, 2.5pc in Bunbury, 1.5pc in Geraldton and 0.5pc in Kalgoorlie/Boulder.
Comparatively, Broome had a high vacancy rate of 7.1pc, however this can be attributed to Broome being a seasonal market in which rental vacancies rise over the wet season and decrease in the middle of the year.
This is demonstrated by the rental vacancy rate of Broome previously sitting at zero from May through to August last year.
Speaking to Farm Weekly on the issue, a State government spokesperson said the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly impacted and changed the housing market across Australia and internationally, with governments and industry facing challenges due to the heated construction market.
"The government is currently undertaking a review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA)," the spokesperson said.
"The review is addressing a broad range of issues impacting tenants and landlords throughout the tenancy cycle.
"The consultation phase for the review has been completed and a decision from government on which elements of the reforms to proceed with will be made soon."
PERTH'S RENTAL MARKET
According to data from reiwa.com, listings for sale and rent in Perth also fell to a 12-year low as of the end of December, with the number of properties for sale dropping to 6931.
The last time they were this low was August 2010, when there were 6858 listings.
"While listings traditionally decline at this time of year, they are 10.8pc lower than December 2021, when market conditions were similar and listings were already low," said REIWA chief executive Cath Hart.
"Delays in the building industry and population growth contributed to low listing levels in 2022.
"Now there is also hesitancy around interest rates."
Ms Hart said that although their members do have sellers who were planning to list in January, they don't expect listings to rise significantly while interest rate uncertainty remains.
Rentals are no different with the number of properties for rent in Perth on reiwa.com 1443 at the end of December.
That's 22pc lower than the 1870 reported at the end of November and 23.1pc less than the same time in 2021.
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"Rental listings also usually experience a seasonal decline, but we haven't seen numbers this low since early November 2010 when there were 1,415 properties available for rent on reiwa.com," Ms Hart said.
"It's been very challenging for tenants but there are some positive signs for the year ahead.
"Our members are also reporting increasing interest, particularly from Eastern States investors who see value in WA's house prices and the potential for strong rental returns."
While the number of properties on the market might have fallen, there also has been an increase to the Perth population.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in June 2010 WA's population was 2,290,845, most of which was in the Greater Perth region.
The population grew 22pc to 2,785,312 by June 2022.
Which Ms Hart says will continue to put pressure on the market.
When it comes to home value, last month saw CoreLogic's Perth home value index increase by 0.1 pc from November and 3.6 pc over the year.
Showing continued strength compared with all other capital cities which saw declines from November to December.
The growth once again is not limited to homes for sale with Perth's median rent price sitting at $520 per week for December, $20 higher than November and up $70 from December 2021.
"The demand for the limited number of rental properties available continues to put pressure on prices," Ms Hart said.
"Population growth will maintain demand and we do not expect prices to fall in the short term."