Regional WA outperforms Perth for price growth in latest quarter

Regional WA’s median house price increased 2.9% during the December 2017 quarter, outperforming the Perth metro region.

REIWA President Hayden Groves said eight regional centres experienced positive median house price growth, with Karratha the top performer with a 13.5% improvement.

Busselton, Albany and Esperance also recorded strong price growth, lifting 9.8%, 7.2% and 6.3% respectively.

“Pleasingly, house prices improved across the board, with centres both north and south of Perth showing positive growth,” Groves said.

Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Northam and Port Hedland were the only regions to record declines.

“After recording a significant 19.5% increase in median house price in the September quarter, Port Hedland’s median house price had a minor adjustment in the December quarter,” Groves said. 

There were 1,191 house sales across regional WA in the December 2017 quarter with overall house sales declining in the December quarter.

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,” Groves said.

"After a challenging couple of years, Karratha, Esperance, Busselton and Bunbury are exhibiting strong signs they are starting to recover.”

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, an overall improvement in selling times 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.

Port Hedland, Bunbury, and Karratha also experienced reductions in average selling days.