New reiwa.com data shows that the number of properties on the Perth market has reached 14,000, while the number of homes for rent has surpassed 6,500.
President of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, David Airey, said listings had jumped for both sales and rentals as a result of WA’s slowing population growth rate and the effect of new building construction impacting on established home sales.
“The number of properties listed for sale has jumped by over 2,000 since the start of the year and sales have slowed by 15 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
“With 6,500 rental properties available across the metropolitan area, that’s a 210 per cent increase since 2012 and has pushed the vacancy rate over four per cent,” Mr Airey said.
Mr Airey said the very high level of house and unit construction across the state, accompanied with the fall in population growth, had tipped the scales to oversupply.
“Added to this is the big fall in the number of first home buyers choosing established homes and building new ones instead.
“However, this is great news for buyers and tenants because it means there is a huge amount of choice and very competitive pricing.
“Along with record low interest rates, there has rarely been such a good time to buy and first home buyers continue to be active in the market place,” Mr Airey said.
According to reiwa.com data, Perth’s median house price dipped by $5,000 last month to around $547,000, while metropolitan rents were holding steady at $440 per week.
“With this large supply of homes for sale and rent, it’s likely we will see negligible price growth across 2015 and a fairly slow market for those selling property or looking for tenants.
“It is essential that sellers and owners listen closely to the advice of their selling agents and property managers to ensure the right marketing and pricing in what will prove to be a very competitive environment,” Mr Airey said.
Mr Airey said that recent figures indicated that the average number of days on the market for home sales had stretched to 67, compared to the more usual 45, while the number of sellers prepared to discount their asking price was now 57 per cent.
Rental leasing times across Perth is averaging 36 days.
Source: reiwa.com