Selling time increases but so does price of property
Properties are taking much longer to sell in Perth but house prices continue to rise, reaching year-on-year highs.
THE time taken to sell a property in Perth has nearly doubled in the past three months, the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia reports.
The latest REIWA data found houses sold in a median of 14 days in May, while units sold in a median of 13 days.
This compares to nine days for houses and eight days for units in February.
REIWA president Suzanne Brown said the Perth property market had eased over the past two months.
“The March quarter was characterised by lower-than-average new listings and very strong demand, which saw properties being snapped up in just over a week,” she said.
“Over April and May we have seen over 1000 new listings per week, which has contributed to the easing of the market.”
The fastest selling suburbs for houses in May were Nollamara and Coolbellup (six days); Subiaco, Hillarys, Forrestfield, Dianella, and Iluka (seven days); and Yokine, Woodvale and Lesmurdie (eight days).
The fastest selling suburbs for units were Tuart Hill (five days); Cockburn Central (six days); Wembley (seven days); Yokine (eight days); Maylands (nine days); Subiaco and Scarborough (10 days); and Rockingham, Perth and Midland (12 days).
Despite longer selling times, Perth property prices rose again in May.
The median house sale price rose 2.2 per cent over the month to $920,000.
This was 16.5 per cent higher year-on-year. The median unit sale price increased 2.3 per cent over the month and 22 per cent over the year to $660,000.
Brown said while the rate of growth remained strong, the changes in market conditions were likely to see it slow in the coming months.
“If listings continue to come to market at similar levels, and if there are more interest rate increases in the coming months that reduce affordability, price growth should ease,” she said.
