Median rents drop by up to $30 per week in Perth

Perth investors have seen a tough run of luck lately, and this isn't yet set to stop with about 80% more rental stock now on the market than at the same time last year, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).

With Perth landlords recently being reported as lowering rents to dissuade potential buyers the REIWA mentioned that the market was starting to ease back in January of this year.

While across the board the Median rent drop calculated by REIWA data was $5 per week to $470, the rent decrease jumps up to $30 per week in the City of Perth.

The western suburbs, South Perth and Victoria Park, Mundaring, Melville, Vincent and northwest Wanneroo were also poorly affected, with median rents dropping by $25, $25 $23, $22, $20 and $20 respectively.

A $10 drop was seen in Bayswater and Bassendean, northeast and southern Wanneroo, Cockburn and Rockingham. Around 65% of vacant properties were seen within 10 kilometres of the CBD.

Despite this, REIWA's Hayden Groves cautions tenants against breaking their leases, warning that the costs of doing so could outweigh the rental reduction they may achieve.

"Equally, it’s important for owners to understand that conditions have changed and they need to adjust their expectations of rental return by talking to their property manager to set the right price," Groves said.