Perth’s median house price lifted one per cent to $510,000 in October, which REIWA attributes to the change in weather.

“In a city renowned for its sunshine, the Perth market tends to slow during the cold winter months. Thankfully, we’re well into spring now which has translated into renewed enthusiasm in the market with more sellers listing their property for sale and prices improving,” Mr Collins said. 

CoreLogic also released their Hedonic Home Value Index for October, which suggested house values in Greater Perth had decreased 0.8 per cent during the month. 

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But the differences between REIWA's median house price compared with CoreLogic's comes down to the type of measures they both use to track the change in values. 

The Hedonic Values Index aims to capture the entire property market including what has and hasn’t sold recently. REIWA's median house price is based on actual sales and suggests that the properties that are selling are beginning to sell at higher prices than a month ago. 

“The findings in CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Value Index reiterate the fact that Perth’s property market continues to travel along the bottom, however with the worst of the downturn behind us, we should see an uplift as buyers and investors take advantage of current market conditions,” Mr Collins told WILLIAMS MEDIA.

Of the properties that did sell, the top performing suburbs for median house price growth during the month of October were Roleystone, South Perth, Como, Atwell and Doubleview. 

“Spearwood, Gosnells, Secret Harbour, Karrinyup and Forrestfield also performed well,” Mr Collins said. More Perth sellers returned to the market in October, with 7.8 per cent more listing stock available for sale than in September. 

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“This is a seasonal trend that we’ve observed for a number of years now, even during the boom, with listings typically increasing in October and November as vendors become more motivated to sell in the lead up to Christmas,” Mr Collins said. 

The 10 suburbs with the biggest growth in listing stock in October were Kensington, Cottesloe, Glen Forrest, Greenwood, Shenton Park, Mount Hawthorn, East Fremantle, Nedlands, Brentwood and South Fremantle. 

“All but two of the suburbs on this list have median house prices above the Perth Metro median, and seven of these suburbs have medians that sit above $800,000. This year we’ve seen activity increase in the luxury end of the Perth market, with homeowners in the area clearly recognising there is good opportunity to secure a quick sale at a competitive price in these higher-end suburbs where there is good buyer demand,” Mr Collins said. 

Perth rental market strong

Perth’s rental market continued the strong form displayed in the September 2018 quarter, with REIWA figures showing leasing activity increased 10 per cent during October. 

The 10 suburbs to experience the biggest improvement in leasing activity (percentage-wise) were West Leederville, Cannington, Southern River, Bertram, Nedlands, Palmyra, Craigie, Madeley, Secret Harbour and Morley. 

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Perth’s median rent price remained at $350 per week, while listings for rent had declined five per cent to now sit below 7,000 for the first time since March 2015. 

“The improvement in the rental market is very encouraging. Prices have stabilised and are no longer declining, which is good news for landlords. Now would be a good time for tenants to think about securing a longer-term lease before rents inevitably rise again. 

“With Perth’s rental market gaining momentum, this bodes well for the overall market as historically the sales market follows behind the rental market during a recovery,” Mr Collins said. 

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