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Perth property prices hold steady in May

Staff WriterEastern Reporter

PERTH property prices remained stable in May according to the latest data from REIWA.

The median house price was $520,500 for the month, 0.3 per cent lower than the $522,000 recorded in April.

REIWA president Hayden Groves said the adjustment in price was negligible and indicated house prices were overall very stable, with the minor decline attributed to a small variance in the composition of sales between April and May.

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“Importantly, when we compare house prices to three months ago (February), Perth’s median price is actually up 1.1 per cent,” he said.

The latest reiwa.com figures are comparable to CoreLogic data, which showed Perth house values increased 0.1 per cent in May and were up 0.5 per cent compared to February.

“What we’re seeing in the Perth market is a slow and steady improvement, which is what REIWA forecast back in December,” Mr Groves said.

“While we don’t expect rapid house price growth this year, we also don’t expect there will be substantial declines either.”

Prices in Perth’s unit market also held up well, with reiwa.com data showing the median unit price increased 0.8 per cent to $419,000 during May.

“Similar to the median house price, when we compare Perth’s latest median unit price to three months ago, prices have increased more significantly by 2.9 per cent, which is very encouraging,” Mr Groves said.

“We are seeing similar trends in the house and unit medians, which is good news as it suggests one sector of the market is not recovering at the expense of the other.

“REIWA expects house and unit prices to remain fairly stable for the remainder of the year, however provided the WA economy remains on this path of recovery and consumer sentiment continues to build, we should start to see genuine improvements in price during 2019.”