Perth’s medium house price is beginning to show signs of stability after declining just 0.3 of a percentage point in May, which is a positive sign according to REIWA.
Perth’s median house price for May was $520,500, only marginally down from $522,000 in April 2018.
If we look back at the past fifteen years, Perth’s annual house price growth rate has sat at approximately 5.9%. REIWA reveals, that based on the March 2018 quarter index, house prices in Perth would only need to grow by more than 3.1% annually for buying to be considered more financially beneficial than renting. In other words, now is a fantastic time to buy.
Peard Real Estate CEO, Peter Peard, says this is the most affordable buying environment he has seen in years and it seems buyers are certainly aware of this.
“May was our best-selling month in some time, confirming that we are on the road to recovery.
“Despite some heavy rains and less than favourable viewing conditions, genuine buyers are coming to home opens and they are ready to buy, which is reassuring,” says Mr Peard.
The latest REIWA figures are supported by CoreLogic data, which shows Perth house values increased by 0.1 of a percentage point in May and were up by 0.5 of a percentage point compared to February.
REIWA President, Hayden Groves, said that the Perth market is experiencing a slow and steady improvement, something that REIWA had forecasted in December 2017.
“While we don’t expect rapid house price growth this year, we also don’t expect there will be substantial declines either.”
“Similar to the median house price, when we compare Perth’s latest median unit price to three months ago, prices have increased more significantly by 2.9 per cent, which is very encouraging,” says Mr Groves.
In more positive news, the similar tends we are seeing in the house and unit medians, suggest that one sector of the market is not recovering at the expense of the other and this is a key indicator of recovery.
“We’d expect house and unit prices to remain fairly stable for the remainder of the year,” says Mr Peard.
“If our economy remains on its current path, consumer sentiment should continue to improve, ultimately driving property prices up throughout 2019”.