Perth housing data sends mixed message

The Perth property market has recorded an increase in the price of new land sold and strong growth in land under construction in the March quarter, however annual data in a new report out today shows the market still has a long way to fully recover.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia WA's quarterly report reveals a 4.9 per cent rise over the past year in the average price of new lots to $234,928.

This figure represents a slight decline from the December quarter.

In the March quarter 1,441 lots were sold, up 1.6 per cent compared to December, while the  value of lots sold was up 1.1 per cent.

But on an annual basis, the number of lots sold was off 16 per cent and the value of lots sold was down 12 per cent.

The average price of lots on the market has also declined 6 per cent over the past year to $219,060.

Land under construction rose nearly 37 per cent on a quarterly basis to 3,409, but remains 8 per cent lower than a year ago.

UDIA chief executive Allison Hailes said the indications of the data were positive.

“The data shows that the value of new land has been on an upward trend since March last year,” she said.

“This is a very promising sign for the property market recovery.

“Increased construction activity is a clear sign of developers’ confidence in the market, and this indicates they are obviously expecting buyer demand to increase over the year.

“While construction levels are still down on previous years this is a really promising early sign of a lift.”

The lift in construction activity can be attributed to several new estates and stages that are being brought to the market, especially in Perth’s north western suburbs, according to Ms Hailes.

“The north west corridor has dominated the market during the March 2018 quarter with a 28.3 per cent share of all sales in the Perth metro area,” she said.

The report says the north west corridor’s growth is underpinned by several masterplanned communities in the City of Wanneroo, and over the next few years this corridor will also benefit from the Yanchep rail extension that will include stations at Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep.

The south west corridor, which includes Cockburn, Rockingham and Kwinana, is second in terms of sales activity, with 25.2 per cent market share.