Rising demand in regional WA pointing to improving market

“It’s the first time this year we’ve seen overall sales activity and median house price improve simultaneously in regional WA,” Mr Collins said,

“The results of the September quarter are very promising and suggest a recovery is not too far away.

“Although regional WA continues to feel the effects of the market slowdown, the results of the September 2018 quarter suggest the worst is over, with a number of regional centres starting to find their feet.”

Median prices

Out of WA’s 11 regional centres, five did not record any declines, REIWA analysis showed.

The top performer, according to Mr Collins, was the Albany region, with its median price rising by 26.8 per cent to $430,000.

“It also experienced an improvement on an annual basis, with its median price now 17.5 per cent higher than last year’s September quarter median,” the REIWA president said.

“There was a shift in the composition of sales in Albany during the September 2018 quarter, with significantly more activity occurring above $350,000 than there previously has been, and fewer sales occurring below $350,000, which is where the bulk of activity has typically occurred in this region.”

Other improving regional centres for median price rises included Bussleton with a rise of 9.8 per cent, Bunbury with a rise of 1.9 per cent, Geraldton/Greenough with a rise of 1.8 per cent and Broome which held steady.

Sales activity

Sales activity in regional WA fared slightly better than price rises, with six out of 11 regional centres seeing a rise in sales.

The largest increase, Mr Collins said was in Broome, which experienced a 90 per cent rise of sales up to 38 over the quarter.

Following this was Port Hedland, up 51.7 per cent to 91 sales, and then Karratha, up 23 per cent to also 91 sales.

“The Pilbara region remains one to watch, with the announcement of three new mining projects in the region by BHP, Rio Tinto and FMG going a long way to restoring confidence in the area,” Mr Collins said.

“With 20,000 new local jobs expected to be created as a result of these projects, this should support population growth in the region, improve demand for housing in the area and aid recovery.”

Other improving regional centres for sales included Geraldtown/Greenough by 31.8 per cent, Kalgoorlie/Boulder by 26.8 per cent and Mandurah/Murray by 8.5 per cent and Albany, which held steady.