Despite a July dip in listings, Perth’s property market continues to sizzle

According to the latest data shared by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, Perth’s listings fell 2.3 per cent in July 2020. This figure represents a 6.4 per cent fall on where listings sat back in April.

REIWA president Damian Collins acknowledged that “normally, wet weather dampens people’s interest in attending property inspections, but July was still a very strong month for sales.

“As we transition out of winter into spring, this should put the Perth property market in a good position to continue its strong recovery,” he said.

Mr Collins attributed the bulk of the month-on-month decline in listings to the housing market, noting that listings for Perth houses fell 6.2 per cent in July and 11.9 per cent over the last three months.

As you might expect, not every suburb conformed to this trend to the same extent.

Banksia Grove recorded the biggest fall, with listings dropping by 44 per cent. Lockridge almost managed to match that with a 37 per cent decline. Meanwhile, Darlington, Glendalough and Helenva Valley all reported a 33 per cent decline in listings.

“It is encouraging to see stock still being absorbed at a healthy pace during winter when we’d generally expect fewer sales to occur,” Mr Collins commented.

Where listings slipped, Perth’s overall house values crept upwards, with CoreLogic’s home value index for the city rising 0.3 per cent in July. This incremental growth brings Perth to a total of 11 per cent growth over the last 12 months, with the median house sale price now sitting at $520,500.

“Even though the rate of growth has slowed down, it is reassuring to see there has still been price growth, which will put Perth in a strong position as we enter the spring selling season,” Mr Collins commented.

The REIWA called out Spearwood as the best-performing suburb in the Perth market for July, after it recorded a 3.3 per cent rise that brought its median house sale price up to $485,000.

Kingsley and Leda were also strong-performing suburbs in July, with the former recording a 3.1 per cent increase that brought its median sale price to $620,000 while the latter notched a 2.9 per cent bump that saw its median sale price rise to $300,000.

Success and Greenfield were also recognised by the REIWA with 2.8 per cent price growth apiece.

“It’s pleasing to see representation from the more affordable end of the market in the top-performing price growth suburbs. The Perth market recovery is widespread and occurring across all price points,” Mr Collins said.