REIWA data shows Geraldton is the only region to have house prices fall in the past 12 months

Geraldton house prices are sliding, with the Mid West hub the only regional city or town to record a drop in property values over the past year.

The Real Estate Institute of WA released its regional data for the March quarter this week, revealing which areas have been performing well and not so well in terms of house prices, sales and rent.

Out of the nine regions, Geraldton was the only one to have recorded a decrease in the median house price over the past 12 months, a 1.1 per cent fall to $370,000.

In the March quarter, the median house price did not move at all in Geraldton, having a zero per cent change over the three months, being one of only two regions to see no change.

With sales prices not moving for Geraldton, according to REIWA, it was taking 60 days for houses to sell in the area based on median sale time. In the March quarter, a total of 176 properties were sold in Geraldton.

REIWA Geraldton Mid West branch chair Peta McKenzie said: “While there is still a lot of buyer activity in the area, the volume of sales has reduced, which could be attributed to the interest rate rises over the past 12 months. “

“Those who had to sell due to financial pressures have now done so, and those who are in the market are holding on in hopes of growth over the next one to two years.”

Rental prices in Geraldton dropped in the March quarter, with median weekly rent recording a 5.3 per cent reduction over the three months.

The rental market has remained tight in Geraldton over the past year, with the median weekly rent at $360, which is where it was this time last year.

“Median data over the past year shows that rent prices in the Geraldton area have not increased in the same way that interest rates have risen, despite what is being seen in the metro area,” Ms McKenzie said.

With the zero per cent change over the 12-month period, it places Geraldton’s weekly rent as the second lowest for all the regional areas studied, behind only Esperance’s $335 a week.

At the end of the quarter, REIWA had 30 listings for the Greater Geraldton area with a vacancy rate sitting at 0.9 per cent.

It was taking about 25 days to lease the rental properties, which can be accounted for the low amount of listings on the market.

Although things are looking down now, the next 12 months look to bring improvements.

“While interest rates have had an impact on the market, there is still significant movement and signs would indicate that there will be strong demand over the next 12 months,” Ms McKenzie said.