There arefewsigns that the Perthresidentialproperty markethas been impacted by COVID-19with themarketseeing higher demand than supplyand available stock dropping through the period.
REIWA President Damian Collins said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeingthe number ofproperties for sale and rent continue toreduceeach monthto currently sit at a six-year low, with11,690 properties currently for sale and5,165properties for rent on reiwa.com..
Perths property market hasbeenshowingsigns of recoverysince October 2019andwhile COVID-19 may delaythis, it most likely wont stop it.The stateseconomy is coming back much quicker than many experts thought andas long as it continues to recover, it isunlikelytheproperty marketrecovery will be reversed, Mr Collins said.
Sales market
Looking atlistingsfor salefrom an annual perspective, the same time in May 2019 there were 16,233 properties for sale on reiwa.comwhichis29 per cent higher than current stock levels.
Another positive is to see that the average discount accepted by sellers has reduced to seven per cent, which is 0.5 per cent lower than May last year. If we were ina struggling market, we would see this number higher as sellers accepted lower than normal prices.
Due to thelower than normalstocklevelswe are currently seeingandreduction ofsellersdiscounting,thereshould notbeany major downward price pressure andit is likely that thecurrent median sale price of $477,000willremainrelativelystableover the coming months, Mr Collins said.
Rental market
From a rental perspective,current stock levels are eight per cent lower than April and 29per cent lower than the same time last year.
Since the start of the year the vacancy rate hasremained under three per cent, with it currentlysittingat2.4 per cent and despitethe lack of stock, rentals are still in high demand which REIWA agents on the ground are seeing by the number of people booking into home opens, Mr Collins said.
While things are looking positive so far for the property market,we need to ensure that the market continuesthe recovery we have been waiting for.Therefore,it is time for tax reform in our state and REIWA will continueto lobby for the removal of stamp duty and work with both sides of parliament to find a better solution.
