Perth in property marathon as price jumps $65,000 over the year, with five years of substantial growth

Perth’s median dwelling price has hit a new peak of $836,000 after jumping $65,000 over the past year — more than most households can save — with anticipated interest rate cuts set to further buoy the market. PropTrack’s latest price index, set to be released on Tuesday, shows Perth’s astonishing property marathon is continuing, with a 7.8 per cent added to the value of dwellings over the past year — including 0.3 per cent in June. REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said dwelling values have nearly doubled over the past five years, up 90 per cent — or $396,000. And she said there was no end in sight, with a further three anticipated interest rate cuts this year to boost the market. “With interest rates moving lower this year momentum has been building across the nation in capital city market,” she said. Ms Creagh said reduced interest rates enabled buyers to borrow more, helping them bid up property values. But we should not expect uncontained price rises. Ms Creagh expects affordability restraints will put the handbrake on prices eventually. The PropTrack data shows the median stand-alone house in Perth is now worth $913,000, which is an extra $69,500 after a 7.1 per cent jump over the past year. Units are outperforming the house market as affordability limits kick in, with a 0.6 per cent jump over the month and 12 per cent over the year adding $65,000 over the year, to take the median to $576,000. Regional WA is also outperforming Perth, with dwelling prices lifting 0.4 per cent in June to sit 10.9 per cent higher year-on-year — which is one of the highest annual growths across the country, behind only regional South Australia. Regional home prices have also nearly doubled over the last five years, growing 92.1 per cent. A separate report by the Real Estate Institute of WA indicates the strong prices come amid falling supply, with the number of active listings decreasing 6.1 per cent over the month to 3997. It is the first time it had fallen below 4000 since September 2024, but it is 18.7 per cent higher than a year ago. REIWA President Suzanne Brown said demand was still driving price growth. “While population growth is slowing, it is still strong, which is maintaining the strong demand for homes,” she said. The REIWA index shows Perth’s median house sale price increased 0.8 per cent in June to $786,000, which was 16 per cent higher than a year ago. The median unit sale price rose 0.9 per cent over the month to $540,000, which was 20 per cent higher than a year ago. The suburbs with the highest price growth last month were Mount Lawley (up 2.6 per cent to $1,580,000), Coodanup (up 2.6 per cent to $600,000), Ocean Reef (up 1.6 per cent to $1,300,000), Kewdale (up 1.5 per cent to $758,500) and Melville (up 1.5 per cent to $1,382,500). Scarborough, Rockingham, Currambine, Kingsley and Landsdale were also among the top performers, recording growth of 1.1 per cent or more over the month. Perth’s median dwelling rent price inched up 0.7 per cent to $680 per week in June, which was 4.6 per cent higher than the same time last year. “Our members report demand is particularly strong close to the city, but is often softer in outer-lying suburbs,” Ms Brown said. “In these outer areas, some members report there is strong competition for modern, well-maintained homes, but they are seeing prices decline for older, dated properties.”