The median house price for regional Western Australia increased for a second consecutive quarter in the three months to March, rising by 1.4 per cent according to preliminary Landgate data.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president Hayden Groves said after a challenging couple of years, it was encouraging to see prices in regional WA showing signs of recovery.

"When we look at the individual regions, those north of Perth were among the top performers," he said. 

"Port Hedland, Karratha Urban Area, Broome Urban Area, and Kalgoorlie/Boulder all experiencing increases to their median house prices over the quarter."

Groves attributed the strong results in mining towns to higher iron ore prices during the March quarter.

“The surge in house prices in these areas is likely to be attributed to the improved economic conditions in Western Australia’s northern regions, with iron-ore prices lifting in the March quarter," he said.

Sales activity

The REIWA expects sales activity to rebound in regional WA during the March quarter, as preliminary house sale volumes for the period came in 14 per cent higher than the preliminary volumes figure recorded in the December quarter.

Groves said that once all transactions have settled, volumes for the three months to March are expected to exceed the final December quarter figure.

“Busselton was the stand out performer in regional WA for sales activity in the March quarter, with its preliminary house sales figure of 92 already exceeding the final revised figure for the December quarter by 14 per cent,” said Groves.

REIWA analysis shows the bulk of transactions in regional Western Australia in the March quarter remained within the $150,000 to $360,000 price range (42 per cent), however, there was an increase in activity in the $360,000 to $500,000 range.

“This is likely to have contributed to the increase in regional Western Australia’s overall median," said Groves. Twenty-nine per cent of all transactions in the March quarter occurred within the $360,000 to $500,000 price range, with Albany and Busselton having the highest proportion of sales in the higher bracket.

“Of all the regions, Albany Urban Area and Busselton Urban Area had the largest proportion of their sales activity occur within the $360,000 to $500,000 price range," said Groves.

Average selling days and discounting

Property in regional Western Australia sold two days more quickly than in the previous quarter.

Groves said this improvement was felt across most of the regions, with seven of the 12 experiencing faster average selling days in the three months to March.

“Port Hedland, Busselton Urban Area and Geraldton/Greenough were among the most improved, with it being 26, 20 and 17 days quicker to sell in those areas respectively over the quarter,” Groves said.

Other regional areas to experience a decline in the number of days it took to sell a house were Northam, Bunbury, Broome Urban Area and Albany Urban Area.

Read more about real estate in Western Australia:

Perth markets showing signs of improvement: REIWA

Mining town Karratha has turned the corner

Tougher home lending not the answer for WA: REIWA, UDIA WA