Housing market recovery – Reiwa

PERTH’S housing market is staging a modest recovery with the median house price reaching $460,000 in the September quarter and tipped to keep rising until the new year, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia. The Reiwa figures show Perth’s median house price climbed 2.4 per cent over the September quarter. The new median is still marginally below Perth’s March quarter median price of $465,000. In the regions, Bunbury’s median price rebounded 3 per cent after falling for the past two quarters, while Geraldton and Mandurah experienced their second quarter of price corrections, falling 3 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Reiwa anticipates the modest growth in prices will continue through to the new year, although it believes the federal election campaign may stall some buyer interest. “There is renewed interest in the Perth property market now that people feel prices won’t dip any further. Many people have been waiting to see when prices might bottom out, and it seems that’s now happened,” Reiwa president Rob Druitt said in a statement. With 13,600 homes for sale in the September quarter, up by 55 per cent on the same period last year, the period of selling days has also stretched to 68 days. Perth’s rental market, meanwhile, has continued its upward trend with overall median rent increasing 3.4 per cent in the September quarter to $300 per week. Mr Druitt attributed the rise entirely to the jump in the rents for flats, units and apartments in the September quarter, which increased 3.7 per cent to $290 per week. Jenelle Carter