Sellers bail out as home market slides

Home sellers in Perth are pulling their properties off the market in droves as the median house price notches up its sixth consecutive quarter of declines, the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia says.

REIWA today said the number of listings in Perth had fallen by 11 per cent since the end of June, from 17,400 to 15,000, but there had been little movement in turnover.

“What we are witnessing is a large number of sellers simply taking their properties off the market rather than stock being diminished through sales,” REIWA head of research Stewart Darby said.

Perth’s median house price continued its downward trend, falling a further 2 per cent since June, REIWA’s figures said.

The continued fall will ensure that by the end of the September quarter, median values in Perth would have fallen for six consecutive quarters.

“Our revised metropolitan median for June is now $477,000 and it looks like it will settle at around $467,000 or below by the end of the September quarter,” Mr Darby said.

“However it is important to note that strong activity from first home buyers is contributing to the fall in median price.”

REIWA data shows first homebuyers now constitute 25 per cent of the market in Perth, with strong activity in homes under $450,000.

Mr Darby said there was also less discounting occurring, with home sellers meeting the market and ditching unrealistic expectations.

“The other interesting thing to emerge from current data is that there is upwards pressure on rents as the metropolitan vacancy rate has tightened,” he said.

Mr Darby said the vacancy rate for rental properties fell to 3.1 per cent in the six months to August, and that drop showed no signs of abating.

Median rents jumped 4 per cent to $395 a week during July and August.

The number of properties available for lease has fallen from 3,600 to 3,000 since June.