This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE national rental crisis is hitting Perth, with available stock levels plummeting to their lowest levels in 12 years and rents will rise further until more rental properties come to the market.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) data shows there were just 1,675 properties available for rent at the end of September, the lowest since 1,537 properties were available for rent in November of 2010.
REIWA president, Damian Collins said now was a challenging time for tenants, with rental supply struggling to keep up with Perth’s growing population.
“Perth’s population has increased by 20% since November 2010, which highlights how low the current rental stock is.
“Construction delays and labour shortages means families are renting for longer while they wait for houses to be built, which is contributing to the tight rental market.
“We expect this pressure to ease as more new home builds reach completion, but this will take time and only free up a limited amount of stock, as some people building are living with their parents or in share housing.”
Collins said mum-and-dad investors who have rental properties to offer to tenants in WA are critical for ensuring rents remain as affordable as possible.
Perth’s median rental price was $495 per week in September, a $15 increase on August.
“It is not surprising that rent prices have increased given that listings are at a 12-year low,” Collins said.
“Unfortunately, rents will continue to rise until we see more rental properties come on to the market.”
It took a median of 16 days to lease a rental during September, unchanged from August.
Maddington, 20 kilometres south east of the CBD, was the fastest-leasing suburb at just seven days. Close behind was outer northern suburb Tapping (eight days), while all at nine days were Byford, on the southern edge of Perth, the inner north’s Tuart Hill, and south eastern location Piara Waters.
Other suburbs to record fast leasing times were Greenfields, Warnbro, Yanchep, Joondanna and Gosnells.
“There are clearly challenges in the rental market, however we have the most affordable housing climate in the country, an enviable lifestyle, plentiful job opportunities and a strong economy making our state a very attractive option for people wishing to move here,” Collins said.
REWIA research shows that 72% of people who own investment properties only own one, and are most likely working as school teachers, nurses or other health care professionals.
“Any changes to WA’s tenancy laws that discourage investors from buying residential property in WA will make an already tough situation worse,” Collins said.
According to new data from CoreLogic, Perth’s house prices are falling but at a much slower rate than the capitals on the eastern seaboard, with monthly and quarterly falls of 0.4% to the end of September.
Collins said low availability of properties to buy continues to be a key reason why WA is not seeing the significant fall in prices like the eastern states are.
There were 8,040 properties listed for sale on reiwa.com at the end of September, 1.8% lower than August.
The median time to sell a house declined to 15 days in September, two days faster than August, and well below a balanced market of about 30 to 40 days, according to Collins.
“These market conditions still point towards a seller’s market,” he said.
