90% of West Australia saw house price growth in 2020

Seven of the nine regional WA locations experienced quarterly median house price growth during the December 2020 quarter.  

REIWA President Damian Collins said the reiwa.com data shows eight experienced house price growth compared to the December 2019 quarter too.  

Port Hedland saw the biggest improvement, with its median price increasing to $270,000. 

“This represents an improvement of 9.3 per compared to the September 2020 quarter and 17 per cent compared to the December 2019 quarter,” Collins said.

"Esperance was another strong performer, with its median increasing to $343,000, an increase of 3.9 per cent during the quarter and 9.8 per cent compared to the December 2019 quarter,”  Collins noted.  

Five regional centres saw sales activity increase during the quarter, led by Karratha and Geraldton were the standouts. Sales activity was up 15 per cent in Karratha and 12 per cent in Geraldton during the quarter. 

The other centres to record improvements were Port Hedland (up seven per cent), Albany (up four per cent) and Kalgoorlie-Boulder (up one per cent).  

“Overall, the regional sales markets are showing strong signs of recovery, with mining sectors like Port Hedland and Karratha leading the way,” Collins conclude.

“This is in part due to the commitment by mining companies to keep their workers in WA as they continue to navigate the COVID-19 travel restrictions.” 

Meanwhile rental listings declined in seven regional centres during the December 2020 quarter.  

Busselton and Bunbury saw the biggest reduction during the quarter, with listings down 36 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

With fewer rentals available across regional WA, tenants were having to offer more weekly rent to secure a lease with Port Hedland and Karratha recorded the biggest quarterly increase in rent price, with their median rents up $55 to $550 per week and $50 to $700 per week respectively.