THE shortage of homes for sale experienced during the past year appears to be easing, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA.
September 2003 figures show a significant increase in the number of homes on the market, the first such increase in two years.
By the end of September there were 6,250 properties available for sale in Perth, an 11 per cent increase on stock levels from the previous month.
However, in comparison to the same time last year, the September 2003 housing stock numbers are still down 27 per cent.
But availability doesn’t always translate to sales, with the 3,476 established homes sold in September representing a decrease of 11.6 per cent on the previous month.
The September 2003 sales figure was, however, up 18 per cent on the corresponding period the previous year.
While sales figures may fluctuate, property values are still escalating. The median price of established homes sold in Perth in September was $218,900, up nearly 16 per cent on the September 2002 figures.
REIWA president Jim Henneberry said the real estate market had entered a new phase of consolidation after the mid-year buying frenzy.
“The rise in stocks of homes for sale is encouraging and it is in line with normal market behaviour in the lead up to the busier summer season,” he said.
“Last year we missed out on the normal build-up of the stocks in spring, which was the cause of the stock problems for 2003.”
