The 2020-21 financial year was positive for the Perth sales market

A lot can happen in a year, which was certainly the case for the Perth residential sales market during the 2020-21 financial year.

In the last 12 months, the Perth market has seen a significant turnaround. It has changed from being a buyer’s market to firmly favouring sellers. We saw the bottom of the market hit in July 2020. It then started to find its feet in the back end of 2020 before shifting into a solid recovery phase throughout the first six months of 2021.

CoreLogic data shows Perth home values are up 9.8 per cent in the last financial year, with seven per cent of that growth occurring in the first six months of 2021. This is a big turnaround from the lows of last July.

Other key market indicators tell a similar story, with

reiwa.com data showing the median time to sell a home in Perth had declined from 49 days to just 15 days in 12 months. This is a remarkably fast turnaround and illustrates that there is immense competition between buyers to secure a property.

This is also reflected in the number of properties available on the market. At the end of June 2020, there were 10,310 properties for sale, fast forward 12 months and listings for sale are down 13.4 per cent to 8933. All of these factors have created very good selling conditions for property owners.

With winter now upon us, the pace of the Perth market recovery will likely ease for a couple of months. Traditionally the cold, wet weather tends to slow the market, which we saw signs of in June. CoreLogic data shows the Perth home value index increased 0.2 per cent in June, which is the smallest monthly increase seen in 2021 and coincides with the change in seasons.

It is encouraging though that even as the colder weather has descended upon us and activity has eased slightly, we are still seeing price growth. This will hold Perth in good stead as we transition out of winter and into the spring selling season in the coming months.

The turnaround of the Perth residential sales market in the last 12 months has been impressive. REIWA anticipates the buoyant market conditions will continue for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.