Six out of the 12 centres across regional Western Australia has experienced a positive median house price growth in the December quarter 2016 according to the latest study commissioned by Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).
REIWA president Hayden Groves said the strong showing was an optimistic sign for the regions as it had a positive effect on regional WA’s overall annual median house price, with preliminary Landgate data showing it lifted 1.4 percent over the quarter to $355,000.
“Although sales activity in Northam was subdued in the December quarter, it was the best performing regional centre for median house price growth, with its quarterly change in the annual median increasing 18.6 percent in the three months to December 2016.
“Other top performers for median house price growth were Busselton Urban Area and Esperance Urban Area, which experienced lifts of 12.1 and 7.1 percent respectively,” Groves said.
The Broome and Port Hedland regional centres had the most notable softening of median house price in the December quarter.
Sales volumes were down across regional WA in the December quarter, with preliminary Landgate data showing 1,264 transactions, adding that this figure was expected to lift to around 1,500 once all sales had settled.
“Albany and Broome were the strongest performers for sales activity over the quarter, bucking the trend to record stable volume levels. Once all sales have settled for the quarter, we expect Broome Urban Area’s revised sales figure to have recorded an increase,” Groves said.
REIWA analysis shows the bulk of regional sales transactions in the December quarter remained in the $150,000 to $360,000 price range.
“In Bunbury and Albany, while the majority of transactions were below $500,000, both regional centres saw an increase in activity in the higher end of the market, which has contributed to the quarterly median house price for both areas lifting,” Groves said.
Other regional centres to record an improvement in average selling days over the quarter were Northam, Esperance Urban Area, Mandurah/Murray and Geraldton/Greenough, while the Karratha Urban Area was unchanged in the September quarter.
