Western Australia's house price index has risen 2.7 per cent in the June quarter, in line with the national upward trend, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.
The national index rose 4.2 per cent, a turnaround from a revised 1.5 per cent fall recorded in the March quarter.
The median market forecast was for a rise of 2 per cent.
Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said the jump in established house prices in the latest quarter is not a cause for alarm.
"A 4.2 per cent rise in established dwellings in the June 2009 quarter followed four straight quarters of decline in the ABS series with the index still down by 1.4 per cent relative to mid- 2008," he said.
"We're certainly not talking about a strong result here. But evidence of moderate growth flies in the face of incessant talk earlier in the year that house prices would drop into free-fall. Clearly, and predictably, that has not been the case.
"The fact that house prices have held up is an important factor in Australia dodging the massive economic fall-out evident in the United States and the United Kingdom. Signs of life in the real estate market will also be helping to underpin consumer confidence at a time when confidence in Australia's economic prospects is very important."
In the year to June, Australia's house price index fell 1.4 per cent while the index in WA fell 3.7 per cent, the largest fall compared to other capital cities.
Darwin recorded the strongest growth with the index jumping 11 per cent while Sydney dipped 0.9 per cent, Melbourne fell 1.5 per cent, Brisbane dropped 3.3 per cent and Adelaide's index rose by 2.7 per cent.