Median house price hits $455,000

PERTH house prices have risen by 36.6 per cent since the June 2005 quarter, making it the second most expensive city behind Sydney in terms of house prices. Australian Property Monitors estimates the Perth median house price is now $455,000, the fastest quarterly house price growth rate in the country. The property frenzy, sparked by the state’s booming resources industry, appears to be undeterred by recent interest rate rises and talk that the resources boom is headed for a downturn. But APM says that if interest rates were to rise again before Christmas, prices could retreat "quite sharply" on a drop in demand. Perth apartment prices bucked the national trend, rising 11.3 per cent in one quarter and 41 per cent since June 2005.