Western Australia's property splurge has driven mortgages to a record $55 billion, an increase of more than 20 per cent in one year.
The jump from $45 billion in the previous year was recorded by the WA Department of Land Information which saw records broken across the board.
DLI figures also show how mortages against WA land have risen from around $20 billion in 1997-98 to current levels, a leap of two and half times in less than a decade.
The mortgage jump reflects the rise in land values, underscored by the increase in Real Estate Institute of WA's median house price to $450,000, second only to Sydney in the national context.
Today another property survey - by Australian Property Monitors - found Perth's annual median price was $491,000 (see separate story), though local pundits like Stewart Kestal from Residex suggested that figure overstated the price and expected rising stock levels would help buyers.
Last week statistics released by the Housing Industry Association showed the first-home buyer median house price in Perth jumping 16.3 per cent in the September quarter, resulting in a 14.7 per cent fall in affordability.
DLI stats show a 13 per cent increase in land transfers in 2005-2006 from the previous financial year, worth a total of $41.4 billion.
The total number of lots created rose 12 per cent to a record number of 34,270.
HIA director of housing and economics Simon Tennent said this would lead to first-home buyers being forced to commit 29 per cent of their incomes towards mortgage payments, which was the highest ratio in nearly three years.
A total of 469,120 documents connected to the buying and selling of property passed through DLI during the period, a 15.5 per cent increase on the previous record of 406,225 set in 2004-2005.