Perth is set for a property market boom: Terry Ryder

EXPERT OBSERVER

The busiest markets in Australia are the cities and towns where Covid-19 is contained and life is relatively unrestricted – apart from the border closures, of course.

The busiest markets also include those where first-home buyers are the most active cohort, boosted by high levels of government help and low levels of interest rates.

And the busiest markets also include those where vacancies are ultra-low and there is upward pressure on rents – a situation that usually translates into rising prices.

One city has all three of those trends highly prominent right now. That city is Perth.

The Perth market has shown greater resistance to the pandemic impact than most Australian markets in terms of sales activity.

And its market is now pumping strongly, led by first-home buyers.

A standout feature is that many of the precincts with the best performance are at the affordable end of the market, reflecting the reality that first-home buyers are a major force in the market at present, more so than investors.

This trend has been enhanced by the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder grant, which has inspired people to buy residential land to build new homes.

The data shows major increases in Perth residential sales in July, for houses and especially for residential land.

Sales overall in Perth rose 68% in July, compared to April, while sales of residential land increased 121% - in other words, land sales more than doubled.

Perth has become the most affordable of the Australian capital cities – so it’s a great time to be buying there as a first-home buyer – and as an investor.

A further boost to the case for Perth comes from renowned demographer and author Bernard Salt. He says Perth is “the right place for the moment” and predicts the Perth property market will boom for the next several years.

Salt is the author of five books, including The Big Shift and Man Drought, and a columnist for The Australian and Herald Sun. He was awarded the Order of Australia in the 2017 Australia Day Honours and is the Chair of the Tourism Forecasting Committee at Tourism Australia.

He says WA’s successful management of the pandemic, emerging growth economy and the growing trend towards working from home are all factors pointing towards a new boom in the Perth property market.

“Perth is the right place for the moment,” he says. “It all augurs well for the confidence level in the property market in Perth.”

He suggests that Perth’s new property boom will endure throughout “the first half of the 2020s”.

Certainly, Perth is due. Indeed, overdue. It’s been on the cusp of revival a couple of times recently before speed bumps appeared (in early 2019 the banking royal commission and the looming federal election – and in early 2020 the onset of the pandemic).

But the gathering forces are building a perfect storm for the next Perth up-cycle.

Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
ryder@hotspotting.com.au
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