Lawless said strong overseas and interstate migration was fuelling housing demand in the west, and it would be years before the supply/demand imbalance stabilised.
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“Even though overseas migration looks to be falling now since peaking at the March quarter, interstate migration looks to have held way above average levels,” he said.
“If you look at how many homes are being built, or at least the construction pipeline, it is still extremely low.
“It’s fair to say that in the face of these strong demand pressures we’re simply not seeing an adequate supply response.”
Strategic Property Group managing director Trent Fleskens said despite WA enjoying the economic benefits of a globally leading economy, there was no capacity to supply sufficient housing to the state’s current population, let alone the population that continues to flood into WA.
“The data is clear, demand is higher than it has ever been, supply is lower than its ever been per capita, and the pipeline capacity to solve this issue is akin to having the people to build a life raft to survive a tsumani,” he said.
Fleskens said if the RBA dropped interest rates pit would likely propel Perth property prices even higher.
In January, JW Residential director Nikki de Rijcke sold 19 properties worth more than $13 million.
She said there were plenty of homeowners who wanted to sell, but they were struggling to find their next home.
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“Properties are flying off the shelves faster than ever, driving prices upward,” she said.
“Buyers need to make decisions faster than ever and be ready to go when the property they want comes up.“
REIWA chief executive Cath Hart expected strong growth for the Perth property market in 2024 based on current conditions.
“The established homes market is being driven by strong population growth, a strong economy and low building commencements and completions,” she said.
“The Perth market has weathered the rising interest rate climate extremely well, demand remains high, and properties are selling extremely quickly.
“If market and economic conditions remain the same, and rates fall, we can expect demand to increase and prices to rise further.”
Lawless, said similar to the trend in housing values, Perth stood out among the capital cities with a substantially faster rate of rental growth that was showing little evidence of slowing down.
“The same underlying factors that are rapidly pushing home values higher across Perth are at play in the rental sector, with demand substantially outweighing supply, keeping rental growth well above average levels,” he said.
“Perth and parts of regional WA are continuing to show an affordability advantage alongside solid demand from high levels of interstate and overseas migration.”
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Source Agencies
