WESTERN AUSTRALIA
STANDOUT LOCATION Bunbury
While the Perth market was showing signs of fading late in 2023, the City of Bunbury was heading in the opposite direction. The commercial heart of WA’s booming south-west region, Bunbury offers an attractive seaside lifestyle and affordable housing, which accounts for it having a population growth rate well above the national average. Most suburbs have median house prices below $500,000.
2023 REVIEWED – City of Armadale
We said a year ago that the Armadale LGA in the far south of Greater Perth offered value for money – and in 2023 it was a nation-leading market. Many suburbs had double-digit price growth, including Camillo (17%), Brookdale (14%), Harrisdale (12%) and Armadale (12%).
Late in 2023, the Perth property market showed the first signs of tapering off, after three years of rising sales activity and prices.
Perth ended 2023 as the No.1 city on annual price growth, but it’s unlikely to retain that status in 2024.
In recent years, Perth has been on a different path from the major east coast cities. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all declined in 2022, but Perth continued to rise. It was a national leader throughout 2023, with the big eastern cities heading into recovery as the year evolved.
Now 2024 looks like a year led by the biggest cities, while Perth will be fading somewhat. In the second half of 2023, there was a notable drop-off in sales activity across Greater Perth, usually the first sign that a boom is coming to an end.
A decade ago, a Perth property boom (related to the extraordinary resources boom at that time) was followed by six years of price decline. That won’t happen this time, as the WA and Perth economies are stronger and more diversified these days. But we are unlikely to see double-digit price growth in Perth in 2024.
Regional WA has been a standout for the past couple of years and some of the key regional centres are likely to outperform Perth in 2024. South of the capital city, Mandurah and Bunbury have growth markets, both offering an affordable lifestyle, while north of Perth the regional city of Geraldton looks to have a vibrant future.