In welcome news for tenants, Perth's median rent prices remained stable in April.
The median weekly dwelling and median house rents were $650, unchanged from March. The median unit rent held steady at $600 per week.
"In a constant climate of rising rents, this is very welcome news," REIWA CEO Cath Hart said.
"We do expect rents to continue to rise over 2024, but the rate of growth has been slowing and there are signs demand is easing at the higher end of the market."
Despite the stability in April, rents grew strongly year-on-year.
The median unit rent recorded the most growth, up 20.0 per cent since April 2023. The median dwelling rent rose 18.2 per cent over same period, while the median house rent rose 13.0 per cent.
According to www.reiwa.com data, the suburbs that saw the most growth in their median weekly dwelling rent price in April were Subiaco (up 7.1 per cent to $750), Joondalup (up 6.7 per cent to $600), Aveley (up 3.8 per cent to $675), Spearwood (up 3.5 per cent to $600) and Southern River (up 3.5 per cent to $750).
Listings for rent
There were 2,094 properties available for rent on www.reiwa.com at the end of April. This was 13.2 per cent higher than March 2024 and 4.3 per cent higher than the same time last year.
"Rental listings have been below 2,000 for most of the last two years, so it's very pleasing to see them increase," Ms Hart said.
"We have seen them rise in the past few weeks and this could reflect new supply coming to the market.
"Our members are reporting some newly built homes owned by Eastern States investors finally coming to the rental market. This is predominantly in outer-lying suburbs where there has been land available for development.
"And a large refurbishment project in Maylands was completed in March, adding over 100 apartments to the market.
Median leasing times
Homes leased in a median of 16 days during April, one day slower than March, but unchanged from a year ago.
www.reiwa.com data showed the suburbs recording the fastest median leasing times were Greenfields (six days); Maddington, Dudley Park, Nollamara and Safety Bay (nine days); West Leederville (10 days); Thornlie (12 days); and Joondalup, Palmyra and Piara Waters (13 days).
Perth sales market
The Perth median house price continued its rise in April, up 1.6 per cent on the $620,000 reported at the end of March to $630,000. This was 14.5 per cent higher than April 2023.
The median unit sale price also rose over the month, increasing 2.7 per cent to $426,000. This was 6.5 per cent higher year-on-year.
"Unit prices were fairly stable throughout most of 2023, but in recent months we have seen price growth accelerate," Ms Hart said.
"The median house price is already at a record high, but there is the potential this year for the median unit price to exceed its previous high of $450,000 set in 2014."
The suburbs that saw the most median house price growth in April were Floreat (up 3.4 per cent to $1,810,000), Golden Bay (up 3.2 per cent to $545,000), Joondalup (up 2.8 per cent to $725,000), Lesmurdie (up 2.6 per cent to $800,000) and Scarborough (up 2.4 per cent to $1,024,000).
Orelia, Mount Lawley, Seville Grove, Beechboro and Girrawheen were also among the top performers, recording growth of 2.1 per cent or more over the month.
Time on market
Houses sold in a median of eight days in April, unchanged from March and six days faster than April 2023.
Units sold in a median of 11 days, one day slower than March but 16 days faster than a year ago.
According to www.reiwa.com data, the fastest selling suburbs in April were Camillo, High Wycombe and Lakelands (four days); and Alkimos, Dayton, Golden Bay, Kenwick, Maylands, Palmyra and Wellard (five days).
Listings for sale
Active listings* settled at 3,636 at the end of April. This was 1.3 per cent higher than March but 43.6 per cent lower than a year ago.
Ms Hart said total new listings coming to market declined slightly over April.
"This is to be expected. Historically, new listings tend to fall in April and this is usually due to the number of public holidays and the school holidays," she said.
"What we have seen in the past few months is an increase in new unit listings. This very likely reflects the rise in unit prices, with owners choosing to take advantage of long-awaited capital growth."
* Active listings – the number of properties advertised on www.reiwa.com at any given time. New listings – new properties listed for sale.
