Land sales stable

LAND sales in Perth remained fairly steady in the March quarter, sliding just 1.7 per cent from the previous quarter, according to data from the Urban Development Institute of Australia released this week.

Sales of lots in the Perth metropolitan region totalled 1,168 - 20 lots fewer than were sold in the December quarter.

However, the overall sales trend since December 2006 has been down, with the exception of a 49.7 per cent spike in activity in June last year.

For the March quarter, the average price of a lot in Perth was $299,409, dropping more than 25 per cent since December.

However, a spate of sales of premium coastal lots in Cockburn, fetching an average price of $981,517 for the suburb, was blamed for inflating the price last quarter.

The average price of a lot in Cockburn has returned to $435,568.

Mandurah and Wanneroo both posted price growth of about 7 per cent, while Kwinana's average price fell by 13.3 per cent, despite a massive 126.5 per cent increase in lot sales.

UDIA WA chief executive officer Debra Goostrey said in a statement that lot prices had remained steady overall.

"The average price of land across the metro area for the last 12 months has generally remained around the $280,000 to $300,000 mark," Ms Goostrey said.

"The average price of lots is only down 3.8 per cent on the September 2007 quarter and up 7 per cent on the June 2007 quarter."