Perth has pipped Sydney to become the most expensive capital city in Australia for residential land.
The Housing Industry Association-RP Data residential land sales report, released this morning, showed Perth land was the most costly in the nation, on a per square metre basis, for the three months to June 30, at $563/sqm.
Vacant land in the NSW capital costs $549/sqm, according to the report.
In Perth, the square metre prices were up 7.6 per cent on the previous quarter to be 7.7 per cent higher than at the same time last year.
The median lot price in Perth during the June quarter was $240,000, while in Sydney it was $280,000.
“Pressures around residential land supply being released in a timely fashion are the main force underlying the escalation of Perth prices,” the report said.
“The fact that Perth prices are over three times their levels of a decade ago reinforces this point.
“In Sydney, land prices have risen by a relatively modest 27.4 per cent over the same period, against the backdrop of a weak market through much of this time.
“The sharp rise in per square metre prices in Perth was driven by both higher median prices and a substantial fall in the median size of land.”
Major land developers in Perth include Satterley Group and listed players Peet and Cedar Woods Properties.
Residential land sales in Perth, however, fell by 18.2 per cent in the three months to June 30, but remain more than 20 per cent higher than they were a year earlier.
The report showed there were 3,075 vacant lots sold in the June quarter in Perth, while the median lot price rose by 2.6 per cent, compared to the previous three months.
Lot sizes have dropped by 5.2 per cent over the last 12 months, with the median lot size coming in at 427sqm, the report said.
In regional WA, median lot prices were $170,000 in the south-eastern region in the June quarter, just higher than those in the South West ($167,500).
Over the past year, lot prices have risen by 13.3 per cent in the south-east, but only rose by 2.3 per cent in the South West.
Total lots sold over the six months to June 2013, however, was 42 per cent higher than the same period 12 months earlier.
Residential land sales in the South West totalled 1,267 over the period, compared to just 62 in the south-eastern area.