REIWA stats shows Perth homes are getting snapped up quicker
It was quicker to sell homes in the last three months of the year than it in the July, August and September period, according to new research by the Real Estate Institute of WA.
It took 67 days on average to sell a property in the last quarter of the year, which was 16 days faster than the preceding quarter.
It is the fastest sales period since December 2017.
Despite the improved sales period, the REIWA data shows Perth’s median house price decreased slightly by 1.4 per cent during the December quarter to $478,000.
This is despite earlier prediction from REIWA president Damien Collins that the market had bottomed out.
However, there were fewer sales in the period, in line with previous years which traditionally record a slow down around the Christmas period.
There was a total of 7,418 properties sold in the December quarter, which was eight per cent lower than the previous year. This comes from a total of 12,410 homes for sale in the three-month period.
Mr Collins was confident that the reduced sales period would translate into higher prices.
“Not only did it take only 67 days on average to sell in the December quarter, but the discount sellers are accepting from the original sale price has reduced to 6.8 per cent from 7.5 per cent in the September quarter.
“If this trend continues into 2020, we can expect median prices will begin to increase,” Mr Collins said.
The data shows 113 suburbs experienced a stable or increased median price in the December quarter.
“The suburb to record the biggest improvement in median house price was Stirling with a seven per cent increase. This was closely followed by Safety Bay, Spearwood, Floreat and Scarborough,” Mr Collins said.
“The Perth unit median was also slightly lower at $375,000, however, we have seen an improvement in the vacant land median, which has risen 2.1 per cent to $245,000 since the December 2018 quarter,” Mr Collins said.
He said there was a reduced amount of stock.
“Reiwa.com analysis shows that good, quality stock is being snapped up fairly quickly, which is shown from both the improvements to average days to sell and the discount sellers are accepting – ultimately this means stock is being absorbed at a quicker rate,” he said.
“While we don’t expect to see rapid growth in the Perth property market in 2020, REIWA’s outlook suggests sales volumes could start to increase this year. With house prices in Perth remaining relatively affordable and consumer confidence levels on the incline, this could translate into increased activity throughout the year.
