Perth house prices reach new high

That is according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).

It found the median unit sale price also rose during the month, increasing by 1.2 per cent to $420,000.

REIWA chief executive officer Cath Hart said the ongoing strong demand for homes continued to put upward pressure on prices.

"WA's population continues to increase at near record rates - up 3.3 per cent to more than 2.9 million in the year to September 2023," Ms Hart said.

"Dwelling completions are well below what's needed to house those additional households and, as a result, people are driven to the established homes market in order to put a roof over their heads.

"This creates strong competition for homes, which in turn pushes up prices.

"We've seen house prices increase 12.7pc year-on-year, and unit prices are up 5pc."

Ms Hart said while there was a lot of talk about Eastern States investors paying top-dollar for homes in WA, REIWA members were reporting it was usually local buyers who were willing to pay more for a home.

"Eastern States investors are certainly showing a lot of interest in WA at the moment," Ms Hart said.

"They are being lured by our relatively affordable housing and the prospect of good yields.

"But these purchases are generally a financial decision for them.

"If the price becomes too high, they'll look elsewhere."

Ms Hart said local buyers were often more emotional.

"They may have a preference for a certain suburb, or fall in love with a home and be willing to pay a premium price," she said.

"This is particularly common if they plan to live in the home for a long time - they consider paying more worthwhile."

The suburbs that saw the highest house sale price growth in March were Yangebup (up 4pc to $644,500); Camillo (up 3.5pc to $445,000); Beeliar (up 3.4pc to $695,000); Mount Pleasant (up 3.3pc to $1,550,000); and Belmont (up 3.2pc to $590,000).

Ballajura, Scarborough, Inglewood, Palmyra and Secret Harbour were also among the top performers, recording growth of 2.8pc or more during the month.

REIWA data showed houses sold in a median of eight days in March, which was unchanged from February and five days faster than in March 2023.

Units sold in a median of 10 days, which was one day slower than in February and 11 days faster than a year ago.

"The incredible demand for established homes is reflected in these selling times," Ms Hart said.

"Such rapid turnover makes it very challenging for buyers and means they need to cover all bases in their search for a property.

"This includes signing up for property alerts on websites such as reiwa.com, registering with agents in the area where they are looking to buy and even engaging buyer's agents to do the leg work for them.

"It's also a challenge for sellers.

"While it may sound good to say my home sold in under a week, sellers then face the problem of finding somewhere to live - either to buy or rent.

"While price is important, in this market, it is also a good idea for buyers to understand what is important to the seller.

"This may be a long settlement to give them time to find a home, or the ability to rent the home back for a period of time.

"It may also include a large deposit or lack of conditions.

"Buyers should speak to the selling agent about the best way to make their offer attractive."

According to reiwa.com data, the fastest selling Perth suburbs for houses in March were Cooloongup, Parmelia and Shenton Park (four days); and Butler, Clarkson, Golden Bay, Huntingdale, Lakelands, Palmyra and Port Kennedy (five days).

Active listings settled at 3654 at the end of March.

This was 8.9pc lower than in February and 48.7pc lower than a year ago.

Ms Hart said properties were still coming to the market in good numbers, but demand continued to exceed supply, which was keeping active listings low.

"The number of new listings for January and February was slightly higher than 12 months ago and on par with the five-year average," she said.

"New listings for March were lower than in March 2023 and the five-year average, but this is very likely to be a reflection of Easter and school holidays falling at the end of the month and people delaying their decisions to sell for a few weeks."

Perth's median dwelling rent rose to $649 per week in March.

This was 3pc higher than in February and 18pc higher than it was a year ago.

The median weekly rent for houses remained stable at $650, but was 18.2pc higher than March 2023.

The median rent for units rose to $600 per week, which was up 3.4pc month-on-month and 20pc higher year-on-year.

According to reiwa.com, the suburbs that saw the most growth in their median weekly dwelling rent price in March were Rockingham (up 10pc to $550), Mosman Park (up 8.3pc to $813), Morley (up 8.3pc to $650), Gosnells (up 5.5pc to $580) and North Coogee (up 5.3pc to $790).

There were 1840 properties available for rent on reiwa.com at the end of March.

This was 10.8pc higher than in February, but 4.2pc lower than at the same time last year.

Ms Hart said rental supply remained challenging.

"Rental listings are chronically low," she said.

"These have been below 2000 for 13 out of the past 15 months and haven't been consistently above 2000 since early 2022.

"Homes continue to rent quickly and the vacancy rate remains extremely low.

"As with the sales market, population growth and low building completions continue to put pressure on the rental market and we can expect prices to rise and listings and the vacancy rate to remain low for some time."

Homes leased in a median of 15 days during March, which was unchanged from February but one day faster than 12 months ago.

Data from reiwa.com showed the suburbs recording the fastest median leasing times were Highgate (six days); Piara Waters (seven days); Doubleview (eight days); Inglewood and Palmyra (nine days); and Westminster, Balcatta, Fremantle, Innaloo and Treeby (10 days).