More than 80 per cent of houses sold in Perth in the year to the end of June went for $400,000 or more, the latest evidence of the difficulties faced by low income earners seeking to own a home.
More than 80 per cent of houses sold in Perth in the year to the end of June went for $400,000 or more, the latest evidence of the difficulties faced by low income earners seeking to own a home.
The finding is part of a report into housing affordability by CoreLogic RP Data. It found that, across Australia, 33 per cent of houses and 40 per cent of units sold for less than $400,000 in the 12 months to the end of June.
Nationally, this proportion of house sales under $400,000 for 2015-16 was a record low, CoreLogic said.
In Perth, just 19.4 per cent of houses and 43.1 per cent of units sold for $400,000 or less over the year, highlighting a lack of options available for low-income earners.
In 2006, just before the property boom of 2007-08, 66.3 per cent of houses and 75.9 per cent of units could be considered to be highly affordable, CoreLogic said.
At the other end of the market, the proportion of Perth houses that sold for more than $1 million was 10.4 per cent for the 12 months to June this year.
Another report by CoreLogic showed the number of suburbs in Perth with a median value of at least $1 million had risen from 32 in 2008 to 42 in 2016, although just one Perth suburb, Peppermint Grove, was listed among the country’s top 25 most expensive.
However, with Perth’s residential property market cooling off following the conclusion of the mining investment boom, industry groups are trumpeting improved affordability in the Western Australian capital.
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia last week said the bulk of transactions in the June quarter occurred in the $350,000 to $550,000 price bracket, which it said was an indication of more affordable housing.
The sales resulted in Perth’s median house price falling by 1.4 per cent to $522,500 in the three months to the end of June, while the median unit price for the quarter was $406,000, a 6.9 per cent decline.
The Housing Industry Association’s affordability index, out last month, showed Perth’s affordability was the best among Australia’s capital cities, with a 4.7 per cent decline in median prices over the past year driving a 6.2 per cent lift for Perth in the HIA’s index.
Unfortunately, the declining median house price in Perth is not necessarily an indication of a plethora of options in the market for low-income earners.
Of the 13,608 houses, units, villas or townhouses listed for sale on reiwa.com on August 24, just 22 per cent were listed at a price of $400,000 or less.
