
Take heart if you own an established home in the city as an investment or off-farm residence.
Real Estate Institute of WA chief executive officer Cath Hart last week said demand for homes in Perth would remain strong following the release of latest population data.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Western Australia's population grew 2.8 per cent to 2.855 million in the year to March 2023.
This was the fastest growth rate of any State or territory.
The 2023 March quarter alone recorded a 0.9pc increase in WA's population of 26,005.
This is the biggest quarterly jump in numbers in ABS records back to 1981.
The news comes as Perth's vacancy rate tightened to 0.8pc in August and rents and house prices set new records during the month.
"We have a significant imbalance between supply and demand and this will maintain the pressure on WA's sales and rental markets," Ms Hart said.
"We can expect to see house prices and rents continue to rise, homes to sell and lease quickly and the vacancy rate to remain at near-record lows for some time yet."
Ms Hart said the low number of homes being built in Perth would have long-term consequences.
"While there are about 20,000 homes under construction currently, they're meeting previous demand rather than future demand," she said.
"Only about 14,000 new dwelling commencements are expected this year, with new builds in the apartment market at extremely low levels.
"Until we can get a strong and consistent pipeline of new dwellings, we can expect to see ongoing pressure in the established market to house our growing population."