Perth unit market at six o'clock, with experts fairly bullish

Perth unit prices fell more rapidly during the second half of 2011 than during the first half, but most property analysts maintain a fairly bullish outlook for the sector.

Charles Tarbey believes Perth unit prices are close to bottoming out and believes the supply of Perth units is close to matching the demand for these properties.

Tarbey says sales activity remains strong, as does interest from “cashed-up investors” looking for apartments close to the city.

Time: Six o'clock

Tarbey says stock levels in Perth have been significantly lower during the past couple of months as a result of properties being withdrawn from the market and of a backlog of properties being cleared.

“I suspect the latter is more responsible – sales for the December quarter were high, and sales over January and February have been significantly higher.  And we are now on the cusp of entering the autumn season, which is traditionally a very busy time for real estate sales,” Tarbey says.

Tarbey says he has also noted a decline in vacancy rates across the properties that Century 21 manages in Perth.

Preliminary data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia’s February 2012 survey shows the quarterly vacancy rate (for both houses and units) for the three months to February sitting at 2.5%.

Population: 1.7 million

Median unit price: $390,000

Unit price growth in February 2012: -2%

Annual unit price growth to December 2011: -4.2%

Annual unit price growth to July 2011: -2.9%

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