This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BUNBURY’S residential market was the star performer in regional Western Australia throughout the December quarter.
reiwa.com data showed Bunbury’s median house price rose 2.3% to $420,000 for the quarter, and 9.1% for the year.
Busselton recorded 1.5% growth to $660,000 for the quarter and was again the top performer annually with 20% price growth.
REIWA President Joe White said there had been a lot of interest in “old” Bunbury recently.
“What has been selling lately are older homes on good-sized blocks near the beach, such as in Usher, Withers and Carey Park,” he said.
“These are cheaper areas and offer good value – it’s a case of the worst house in the best street. These properties offer opportunities to renovate or build close to the coast, in areas that are likely to see some rejuvenation in future.
“Overall, Bunbury is a robust area offering a range of employment opportunities. It is good to see more young people buying in the area and the education facilities appeal to families, while we’re seeing older residents stay as the available health care improves.”
The northern centres of Karratha and Port Hedland were the next best performers in the December 2022 quarter with 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.
Most regions showed moderate price growth or remained stable over the quarter. All regional centres saw median house prices increase over the year.
“Like Perth, the regions are showing resilience in the face of interest rate rises,” White said, adding that a strong economy, low unemployment, affordable housing and ongoing population growth, which will be further boosted by the state government’s recruitment drive, will continue to support the WA market.
“It won’t just be Perth that benefits from the push to attract workers from the UK, some migrants will move to the regions, which will support those property markets as well.”
The state government’s investment in ports will also benefit regional centres. The McGowan government is investing $332 million to optimise growth at Geraldton Port and $0.7 million to improve Bunbury and Esperance Ports, while the federal government. has just announced a $565 million funding boost for Pilbara Ports,” he said.
Rental market results were mixed. Five centres saw their median rent price increase, while it decreased in four. The best performers over the quarter were in the north west, with Broome recording 19.3% growth, followed by Port Hedland with 12.9%.
