Perth's median house price fell $7,000, or 1.5 per cent, in the June quarter due in part to increased first homebuyer activity, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.
Perth's median house price fell $7,000, or 1.5 per cent, in the June quarter due in part to increased first homebuyer activity, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.
REIWA President Rob Druitt said his group's evidence, which came from around 75 per cent of the market, indicated the market was returning to "more normal conditions."
"The revised median price in Perth for the March quarter was $470,000, and this has now retracted a little in the June quarter to $463,000 on our preliminary calculations," Mr Druitt said.
However, Mr Druitt said, the decline was being skewed by increased first home buyer activity which also contributed to a 15 per cent increase in sales.
"Since the State Government effectively did away with stamp duty for first home buyers in May, we have seen the steady return of this group to the market," he said.
"As a consequence, there has been a greater turnover of homes at the cheaper end of the market and this has had the effect of pulling the overall median price down a little."
The increase in sales activity has seen the stock of property listed for sale fall from 13,800 to 13,200 over the quarter, but the average number of selling days has increased from 55 to 61.
Meanwhile, the median rent in Perth jumped from $255 per week for units and $280 per week for a house, to $280 and $300 respectively - an increase Mr Druitt said could be related to the abolition of letting fees in April.
"In the March quarter the vacancy rate plummeted to an all time low of just 0.8 per cent, but this has lifted to around 1.7 per cent," he said.
"However, it seems many land owners have moved to recover their new letting fees impost by increasing rents."
The full text of a REIWA announcement is pasted below
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia today released its preliminary reiwa.com data from the June quarter of this year.
REIWA President Rob Druitt said two interesting themes emerge from its analysis.
"REIWA's sales evidence, which captures 75 per cent of the market, indicates the overall median house price has retreated marginally as the market returns to more normal conditions," Mr Druitt said.
Mr Druitt said the price decline was a very modest 1.5 per cent, representing a fall of around $7,000 on Perth's median house price since the last quarter.
"The revised median price in Perth for the March quarter was $470,000, and this has now retracted a little in the June quarter to $463,000 on our preliminary calculations," Mr Druitt said.
However, Mr Druitt warned against reading too much into the price decline which he said was being slightly skewed by increased first home buyer activity which also contributed to a 15 per cent increase in sales.
"Since the State Government effectively did away with stamp duty for first home buyers in May, we have seen the steady return of this group to the market.
"As a consequence, there has been a greater turnover of homes at the cheaper end of the market and this has had the effect of pulling the overall median price down a little," Mr Druitt said.
"This was also the experience in the September quarter of 2004, when the State Government initially introduced stamp duty relief for first home buyers. At that time sales volume jumped 18 per cent whilst the overall median retreated by 1.2 per cent," Mr Druitt said.
The increase in sales activity has seen the stock of property listed for sale fall from 13,800 to 13,200 over the quarter, but the average number of selling days has increased from 55 to 61.
The other strong theme to come from the June quarter results is the very sharp jump in rents for metropolitan Perth.
The median rent for units in the previous quarter was $255 per week, while houses were $280 per week - giving an overall median rent for Perth of $270 per week.
"However, the June quarter has seen a sharp jump in metropolitan rents with units leaping to $280 per week and houses to $300 per week, giving Perth a new median rent of $290 per week," Mr Druitt said.
Mr Druitt said the jump in rents could not be attributed to the tightening vacancy rate, as this had eased in the June quarter but is likely to be related to the abolition of letting fees which took effect in April.
"In the March quarter the vacancy rate plummeted to an all time low of just 0.8 per cent, but this has lifted to around 1.7 per cent
"However, it seems many land owners have moved to recover their new letting fees impost by increasing rents," Mr Druitt said.
