A Perth property now earns more than its owner as value increases by astonishing amount for September

Perth dwellings have increased in value by an astonishing $3375 a week or $13,500 for the month of September, which is more than most earn through their jobs. New research by Cotality shows the property juggernaut is continuing to gather pace, with the monthly 1.6 per cent rise the highest since July last year. It was even steeper than the quarterly jump of 4 per cent, or $2700 a week for the past three months, which added $35,000 to median dwelling values. It has spurred Perth’s annual growth to 7.5 per cent, taking local median dwellings to a new peak of $855,267. Cotality’s Tim Lawless said the increases were due largely to the “disconnect between supply and demand”. “Listings were 16.9 per cent lower than a year ago at the end of September and tracking 44.6 per cent below the previous five-year average,” he said. “On the demand side, our estimate of home sales was tracking 6.8 per cent above the previous five-year average in the September quarter.” Mr Lawless said “sellers hold all the cards,” with homes changing hands in a median of just 12 days. The market shows no signs of slowing, “With such as rapid rate of sale alongside rapidly rising prices, it’s likely buyers are feeling an acute sense of urgency to get into the market before prices rise further. “It’s hard to know when the growth trend will slow down, however, a lift in supply is likely to be the first sign of the market slowing. So far there is no evidence of this occurring just yet.” Despite the massive 82.7 per cent jump in property prices in the past five years, which has added about $387,000 to the median value, affordability is in the middle range when compared to other capital cities. “Even with such a high capital gain, Perth dwelling values are well below the medians of Sydney, Brisbane, and Canberra and still slightly lower than Adelaide,’ he said. “Allowing for local household incomes, housing affordability is ‘middle of the pack’ across the capital cities, with a dwelling value to income ratio of 7.2, which is also slightly below the national average of 7.9.”