- February saw just 7,899 properties listed on reiwa.com; seventh month of decline
- Median time to sell was 21 days
- Less than 3,000 rentals are available for lease in Perth
Only 7,899 properties were listed on reiwa.com at the end of February – a 10 year low.
This represents the seventh consecutive month whereby the number of listings have declined for Perth with data from REIWA showing that within a year listings have dropped by 36.5%.
Highlighting the strong buyer demand includes the median time to sell a property, which was 21 days last month, the same as January, but notably, 25 days quicker than it was back in February 2020 – just before the true grunt of the pandemic reached Australia.
According to REIWA President Damian Collins, the last time houses were selling this fast was back in 2006. He urged buyers to remain cautious, particularly considering the Perth property market has yet to reach record highs again.
“It’s a hot market and buyers are understandably feeling pressure to make a swift decision. While it’s important to act fast on a property you’re interested in, I encourage buyers to use caution and not panic buy or get themselves into a situation where they pay over and above what the property is worth,” said Damian Collins.
“Yes, property prices have increased in the last six months, but they remain below what they were five years ago so there are still good deals to be had.”
Rental market continues to tighten
The end of February saw 2,839 properties available, marking the sixth-month listing have been below 3,000 according to reiwa.com data.
258 Perth suburbs saw an increase in rent during the past month with Subiaco, Scarborough, Ellenbrook, Belmont and Greenwood seeing median rent increases between $10 and $23.
The February median rent price remained unchanged from January, however, it is still at a five-year high of $400 per week – a $40 increase compared to this time last year.
186 suburbs saw an increase in leasing activity during the past month with Beeliar witnessing a 29% increase. The median lessor took 19 days to find a tenant in February.
This is the lowest median leasing day since June 2013 meaning any tenants wishing to secure a rental are having to do so very quickly.
“Perth is in desperate need of more rental stock to help ease the rental shortage. In order to do this, we need to entice investors back to the market,” said Mr Collins.
“While the end of the rental moratorium later this month will remove one of the barriers for investors, more needs to be done to encourage residential property investment in WA and ensure there are enough rentals in the market to keep up with tenant demand.”
