Home values up despite January lull

Perth home values lifted 0.6 per cent in the first month of 2022, marking the highest monthly increase since May last year to take the average median house price to $531,243.

Latest home value index data from CoreLogic showed Perth home values had grown 0.6 per cent over January 2022, following a 0.4 per cent increase in December and a 0.2 per cent increase in November.

Property prices in Western Australia’s capital are up 1.2 per cent for the quarter and 11.2 per cent annually to sit at a median value of $531,243.

The report also observed a broad slowing in rental growth conditions, particularly in Perth and Darwin.

Perth rents peaked at 16.9 per cent in June 2021, before slowing to 8.8 per cent in January.

Nationally, housing values rose by 1.1 per cent in January but CoreLogic said the quarterly change had continued to soften which reflected a longer-term trend of slowing growth across most of Australia.

“A softening in growth conditions has been influenced by less government stimulus, worsening affordability, rising fixed term mortgage rates and, more recently, a slight tightening in credit conditions, and a surge in new listings through the final quarter of last year,” CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.

“The early indication is that housing markets are starting 2022 with a similar trend to what we saw through late last year.

“Values are still broadly rising, but nowhere near as fast as they were in early 2021.”

New data from REIWA showed Erskine, Padbury, Kalamunda, Harrisdale and Wembley had recorded the biggest median house price sale growth over January.

There were 8,245 properties for sale on reiwa.com at the end of January according to REIWA, 3 per cent more than December 2021.

REIWA president Damian Collins said it had been a strong start to the year particularly given activity is lower in January following the festive season.

“Demand has been strong in the first month of the year,” Mr Collins said.

“If this continues, the Perth market is on track to achieve the 10 per cent price growth that REIWA forecast for 2022.”