Perth’s property market remains strong as we move into the final quarter of the year, with August monthly growth second only to Brisbane. According to Cotality (formerly CoreLogic), national median dwelling values rose by 0.7% in August, bringing the quarterly growth rate to 1.8% and annual change to 4.1%. The combined capital cities outperformed the national index, recording 0.8% growth for the month.

Perth once again outpaced the national average, posting a 1.1% increase in median dwelling values in August. Over the past three months, values have climbed 3.1%, while annual growth has reached 6.6%. Perth continues to perform well as did all capitals with the exception of Hobart.

REIWA reported a 9.45% drop in available listings across Perth at the end of August, taking total stock to just 2,981. This a new record low for this market cycle. Sales activity dipped slightly again, down 2.47% from July. Despite this, the median house price remained steady at $800,000, reflecting the strength of underlying demand.

In the rental market, median house rents rose by 1.47% to $690 per week, while unit rents held steady at $650 per week. Vacancy rates edged up slightly to 2.5%, but continue to sit within long-term average ranges  The rental market is well balanced with vacancy rates within normal ranges and median house rents only increasing by $20/week from the start of the year.

In the City of Melville, the monthly median house price rose 0.14% to reach a new high of $1,400,000. Listings continued their downward trend, falling 14.72% to just 139 properties, while sales increased 13.56% to 134 transactions. This lifted the sales-to-stock ratio to 49%, reinforcing the strong demand across inner suburbs.

Across our core local suburbs, listing volumes increased 1.42% month-on-month. Stock is critically low in Attadale and Bicton, while Applecross and Ardross saw some listing volume return. All other suburbs held steady, reflecting broad consistency in local market dynamics.

Record-low properties in Perth have solidified a trend for me. Despite spring usually delivering a surge of new stock, that burst of supply is only going to pale in comparison to what would be needed to reach a balanced market (which is well over 10,000 properties for sale). I always play the data, the trends, the probabilities, and pay attention to what is happening on the ground – I’m starting to form the view that the Perth property market (all things being equal), may have avoided a correction this cycle and we just may continue straight through into the next cycle of growth. I would have to forecast it will be far more moderate than 2020-2024, however there was a lot of “catch-up” for Perth between those years. Property had a tough time in Perth from 2014 to 2020 – don’t forget Perth was only 2^nd to Sydney in median prices back in 2007 (we even pipped them for a moment). There is always a reversion to mean, and Perth may have just experience its revision back to mean during 2020 and 2024. However, only time will tell.