reiwa.com data hasrevealed Perths rental stock has been quickly absorbed, with listings falling by17 per cent in May to 4,676, which is the lowest they have been since November2013.
REIWA President DamianCollins said despite speculation about a potential challenging real estatemarket, overall, it is doing quite well which is evidenced by the May reiwa.comdata.
Leasing activity
The strong demand we have seen for rentalproperties continues, with a 27 per cent increase in leasing activity comparedwith April, and the vacancy rate dropping significantly in the last two years,Mr Collins said.
In May, Halls Head saw the biggestspike in leasing activity growth with 33 leases for the month and was closelyfollowed by Nollamara (20 leases), Coolbelup (16 leases), Joondalup (18 leases)and Como (18 leases).
Median weekly rent
reiwa.com data shows rent pricesremain stable in Perth, with the overall median rent sitting at $350 per weekduring May.
Looking ahead, the median rent per week should remainat least stable until the end of the year, with any increase in rent only allowedon new rental listings. Legislation implemented in the Residential Tenancies (COVID-19 Response) Act 2020, means occupiedrentals cannot have a rent increase until October, Mr Collins said.
Perth residential sales market
CoreLogicslatest home value index shows dwelling values in Perth declined 0.6 per cent inMay.
Mr Collins saidalthough overall prices had only slightly declined in the Perth region,reiwa.com data shows 64 per cent of suburbs saw either an improved orstabilised median house price.
Median sale price
The top 10 suburbs that saw thebiggest increase to median sale price include Ellenbrook, Claremont, Butler,Yokine, Yanchep, Gosnells, Kelmscott, Halls Head, Waikiki and Willetton, MrCollins said.
Interestingly, seven of the 10suburbs had a median sale price under Perths median of $475,000 and suggestspeople are taking advantage of properties in Perth that are priced at the lowerend.
Listings for sale
Listings for salewere also down in May with only 11,299 properties for sale on reiwa.com, whichis 3.3 per cent lower than April and 30 per cent lower than this time lastyear.
Sales activity
With reiwa.comdata showing sales activity improved by 43 per cent in May following a particularly weak April,it is clear that sales stock is also being rapidly absorbed.
The suburbs thatsaw the biggest improvement in sales were Halls Head, Ellenbrook, Rockingham,Byford, Yanchep, Wanneroo, Dianella, Waikiki, Balga and Armadale.
To ensure a vibrant property market, the WA Government may need to cut stamp duty and we ask them to consider short term changes to help incentivise buyers, as well as long-term tax reform removing stamp duty and replacing it with a broader based land tax system. Mr Collins said.
