Signs of recovery in WA
The year-on-year performance of Western Australia’s regional centres has been revealed, with mining towns continuing to suffer as other areas show signs of bouncing back from recent lows.
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) has announced the median property value movements over the 2014-15 financial year for the state’s regional centres, with mixed results across the state.
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The Pilbara region, hit hard by the downturn in mining-related construction and operations, recorded the most significant price drops in the state.
According to the results, which were disclosed in a media release last week, Karratha suffered the most dramatic decline of any single suburb during the 2014-15 financial year.
“Karratha’s median price dropped by an exceptional 32.3 per cent to sit at $440,000. Port Hedland dropped 12 per cent, but still had a significant median price of $880,000, while South Hedland had a modest drop of 4.6 per cent to $711,000,” the release read.
Albany was the strongest performing regional centre, with the median property price recording a 5.3 per cent increase in median house prices year-on-year.
The current median house price in the Albany urban area is $389,750, according to the release.
Of the strong performing suburbs in Albany, Bayonet Head was the most impressive, with property values increasing by 8.8 per cent based on a current median price of $397,000.
Mount Melville, where values rose by 5.0 per cent to a current median of $380,000, and Spencer Park, which recorded an increase of 4.9 per cent to $350,000, were both listed as other highlights of the Albany urban area.
REIWA Albany branch chairman, Barry Panizza, said that the figures must be analysed with consideration of the downturn in prices experienced during previous years.
“The lift in median price over the last year really only brings us back to where we were five years ago because the market has been weak for that long.
However, it’s encouraging to think that we might now be returning to a better position of forward growth and it gives buyers and sellers a bit more confidence,” he said.
The Busselton urban area, which ranked as the second best-performing regional centre – experienced 3.4 per cent growth overall.
That result incorporated figures from its best performing suburb, Abbey, where the current median price of $625,000 constitutes a 15.7 per cent rise over the previous year.
Goldfields/Esperance, which recorded overall growth of 3.1 per cent, was the third best-performing regional centre.
The suburb of Esperance itself did well with 4.3 per cent growth based on 25 sales and a median price of $365.000.
However, the neighbouring suburbs of Kalgoorlie and Piccadilly returned an even more impressive performance.
Kalgoorlie recorded 7.6 per cent growth to $317,500, while Piccadilly took the title of highest-growth suburb in the state, with a 20.2 per cent increase in its median value to $375,000.
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