Perth Property Market Update January 2026

Entering 2026, confidence across Australia’s housing market remains but is increasingly uneven. Despite easing momentum late in 2025, as affordability pressures and interest rate uncertainty grew, dwelling values are still expected to rise in 2026. National values rose 8.6% through 2025, though outcomes are diverging by city. Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, underpinned by strong market fundamentals, relative affordability and constrained supply, displayed the most strength in 2025 and optimism for 2026. In contrast, Sydney and Melbourne lagged in 2025. They face more conditional growth tied closely to borrowing conditions as well as policy and investor headwinds. Against this backdrop of national fragmentation, Perth stands out as a clear outperformer. The capital city delivered some of the strongest growth in the country during 2025 and is continuing its resilience in early 2026.

Perth’s underlying fundamentals remain strong, and the details tell the story. REIWA has Perth’s median house price at $855,000 for Jan which is up 1.54% month-on-month and 4.27% on a three-month basis. By any measure, this is not a market stalling. It’s a market with overall robust demand, albeit with buyers being more selective, particularly at higher price points where borrowing constraints are beginning to influence behaviour.

Stock remains the defining constraint for Perth. January closed with only 2,468 properties for sale, marking five consecutive months of under 3,000 listings for sale. This is tighter than the critically low post-COVID period. That’s the broader backdrop for why strong price growth remains even with the changing buyer behaviour. While total listings rose in January by 32.55% month-on-month, this reflects normal post-December seasonality rather than any structural shift in supply, with listings still down 13.98% on a three-month basis.

Sales volumes rebounded to 672 transactions in January, a significantly sharp increase from December even considering seasonal effects, yet it was still 26.8% lower on a three-month basis. This reinforces the core dynamic – short-term activity fluctuates, but underlying scarcity remains entrenched. The sales-to-stock ratio was at 21% for January and days on market at 9. This indicates that well-positioned, well-presented homes are moving quickly once they meet the market correctly. On the rental side, the Perth rental market remains stable with median house rents at $710 per week, up +1.43% both on a month-on-month and three-month basis. Vacancy rates are still holding within long-term averages (between 2% and 3%).

In the City of Melville, the pattern is similar but more concentrated. REIWA reported the January median monthly house price at $1,480,000, up +1.89% month-on-month and +3.86% on a three-month basis. The supply side tightened further. Total properties for sale at January’s end was 114, down -1.72% month-on-month and down -23.49% on a three-month basis. Sales for the month were recorded at 89, down -22.61% month-on-month and down -44.03% on a three-month basis. Days on market lifted slightly to 10 (from 9 in December, but that small increase in days doesn’t reflect any material change in the market. Days on market has remained between 8 and 16 days for the last 24 consecutive months.  Rents remain firm with a median monthly house rent of $850 per week, which was flat month-on-month, but up +3.66% on a three-month basis.

Available stock across MGP’s local suburbs remains tight overall, with 107 total listings. This was down -0.93% month-on-month and down -15.08% on a three-month basis. This distribution tells the story: Alfred Cove (0), Applecross (52), Ardross (4), Attadale (5), Bicton (8), Booragoon (3), Melville (3), Mount Pleasant (19), Myaree (3), and East Fremantle (10).

We are seeing stronger buyer demand in lower-to-middle price points, while as mentioned before, lending is reportedly tightening at higher price points effective demand for upper price brackets. That is reflective of what we’re seeing play out locally. Overall buyer depth remains strong, but buyers tend to be more analytical at the upper end, and as such ‘aspirational pricing’ goals are challenged faster. The no bullshit takeaway here is simple: when stock is this constrained, the market will still pay strong prices, but it will not pay them for that, “not quite right” property. In tight markets, buyers can still be patient and still be competitive which is what we call a ‘flight to quality’. They wait for the right property, then move quickly and decisively. That’s why pricing discipline and campaign execution matter more than relying or acting on any broad commentary about ‘the market’.

Inflation has come in higher than expected, prompting the RBA’s first rate increase in two years. This raises legitimate questions around the timing of future rate cuts and the impact of higher borrowing costs on household balance sheets, particularly with Australia’s household debt-to-income ratio approaching 180%. While this will influence sentiment at the margins, it does not negate the structural supply shortage underpinning Perth’s market.

For sellers in Perth and particularly the City of Melville, scarcity remains a powerful tailwind, but the market is increasingly rewarding precision. Strong outcomes are still being achieved by homes that are priced correctly, presented properly and negotiated with discipline. For buyers, finance readiness matters more than ever, as competition remains sharp for quality stock. The key takeaway is unchanged: ignore the noise, follow the data that actually drives outcomes such as supply, demand, days on market, affordability, vacancy rates, population growth, employment, and make decisions based on what the market is doing, not what the headlines suggest.

Watch here the Perth Property Market Update January 2026 to see why scarcity and pricing precision drive strong results into 2026.