Regional WA’s overall median house price increased 2.9 per cent during the December 2017 quarter, outperforming the Perth Metro region.
Northam, Kalgoorlie/Boulder and Port Hedland were the only regions to record declines.
REIWA President Hayden Groves said eight regional centres experienced positive median house price growth, with Karratha the top performer with a 13.5 per cent improvement.
“Busselton, Albany and Esperance also recorded strong price growth, lifting 9.8 per cent, 7.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.
“Pleasingly, house prices improved across the board, with centres both north and south of Perth showing positive growth. Consumer sentiment in WA improved considerably in the December quarter, up 13.5 per cent which has had a positive flow on effect to the property market. West Australians are feeling more optimistic and buyer enthusiasm is returning,” Mr Groves said.
Sales activity
There were 1,191 house sales across regional WA in the December 2017 quarter.
Mr Groves said overall house sales declined in the December quarter, but a few regional centres had performed well.
“Regional WA is wide and varied, so it’s important to look at the individual markets. Our analysis found a mixed bag of results in the December quarter, with sales activity in a number of regional centres increasing or stabilising,” Mr Groves said.
REIWA data shows sales activity in Northam, Karratha and Esperance increased, while volumes in Busselton and Bunbury were stable.
“With the exception of Northam, these regional centres all saw their median house price improve as well. After a challenging couple of years, Karratha, Esperance, Busselton and Bunbury are exhibiting strong signs they are starting to recover,” Mr Groves said.
Average selling days
It was 10 days quicker to sell a property in regional WA during the December 2017 quarter than it was in the September 2017 quarter.
Mr Groves said this overall improvement in selling times was experienced in six regional centres.
“The average time to sell in Kalgoorlie/Boulder reduced by 36 days in the December quarter, while Busselton decreased by 24 days and Mandurah/Murray by 15 days,” Mr Groves said.
Port Hedland, Bunbury, and Karratha also experienced reductions in average selling days.
“Overall, despite subdued sales volumes across regional WA in the December 2017 quarter, the market is moving in the right direction with price growth a leading indicator. The signs are there that, like Perth, regional WA has entered the next phase of this property cycle and a number of centres already appear to have started their recovery,” Mr Groves said.
