Perth's market slowdown during last year's festive season
Listings for sale across Perth fell to a record low of 1,881 at the end of December, according to www.reiwa.com data.
This was 35.5 per cent lower than November and 57.2 per cent lower than December 2024.
REIWA President Suzanne Brown said the decline was to be expected, but the seasonal drop was compounded by ongoing strong demand and an extended period of lower-than-usual new listings.
“Historically, active listings* decrease in December. At this time of year, the number of new listings slows – people are busy with the festive season, or go away, and put their plans to sell on hold – and active listings decline as a result,” she said.
“However, new listings have been significantly below long-term averages in the last six months. New listings in Winter were 11.5 per cent below the 10-year average, with new listings in Spring 15 per cent below the 10-year average.
“By comparison, demand remained extremely high. We saw FOMO return to the market, with our members reporting strong competition for homes, offers well over the asking price in many cases, and homes selling in record timeframes.
“The significant imbalance between demand and supply saw active listings fall dramatically in December.”
Ms Brown said despite conditions favouring sellers, the state of the market was deterring people from listing their home, which impacted the level of supply.
“Our members report there is a logjam in the market,” she said.
“People want to sell, but with the speed of sales and relatively low availability of homes, they are concerned about finding somewhere to live.
“They don’t want to be rushed into buying a new home, and it still remains challenging to find a short-term rental, especially if you need to remain in a certain area for work or schooling reasons.
“If you are thinking of selling, speak to your REIWA agent about how to make the process easier. For example, you may want to set a longer settlement period to give you time to find a home, or you may want to consider listing on the condition that you find a new home first.”
Ms Brown said new and active listings traditionally increased in January.
“However, due to the current constraints in the market, we may not see as much of an increase as we have in previous years,” she said.
Perth sales market
Perth’s median house sale** price continued its upwards trend, reaching a new record of $840,000 in December.
This was a 1.2 per cent increase on November and 12.0 per cent higher than a year ago.
The median unit sale price** also rose, lifting 1.7 per cent over the month and 18.0 per cent over the year to a record $590,000.
Ms Brown said the market was recording strong growth, with units continuing to outpace houses.
“While the rate of growth for the median house sale price is half that seen at the end of 2024, the median unit sale price is at a similar level,” she said.
“Houses have become less affordable and we have seen more buyers look to the unit market, which includes villas, apartments, and home units, as a more affordable entry point to property ownership.
“This increased competition has boosted the rate of price growth.”
According to www.reiwa.com data, the suburbs that saw the most median house sale price growth in December were Lesmurdie (up 4.3 per cent to $1,085,000), Attadale (up 3.2 per cent to $1,912,505), Swan View (up 3.2 per cent to $735,000), Carlisle (up 2.9 per cent to $890,000), and Kewdale (up 2.5 per cent to $835,000).
Harrisdale, Mosman Park, Noranda, Hamilton Hill, and South Perth were also among the top performers, recording growth of 1.6 per cent or more over the month.
Time on market
Houses and units sold in a median of nine days in December, both seven days faster than a year ago.
“These very tight timeframes indicate the consistently strong demand in the market,” Ms Brown said.
“At the same time in 2024, the speed of sales had slowed to 16 days and remained around this level in early 2025. However, we saw a much stronger surge in new listings in the 2024 Spring selling season than we did in Spring 2025, which eased some of the pressure in the market at that time.”
According to www.reiwa.com data, the fastest selling suburbs for houses were Parkwood (three days); Warnbro (four days); Girrawheen, Waikiki and Dayton (five days); and Nollamara, Kingsley, Kelmscott, Brabham, and Bibra Lake (six days).
Perth rental market
Perth’s median dwelling rent remained stable at $700 per week in December. This was 7.7 per cent higher than the same time in 2024.
The median weekly rent for houses was also unchanged at $700 but was 4.5 per cent higher than December 2024.
The median rent for units rose to $680 per week, 3.0 per cent higher than November and 4.6 per cent higher year-on year.
Ms Brown said the rental market continued to record periods of stability, interspersed with periods of relatively small growth.
“Although the market has eased over the last year and a half, we still consider it to be constrained,” she said.
“Conditions are not uniform across Perth. It can be quite easy to find a property in some areas, such as those suburbs that have seen a lot of new builds become available. In other areas, particularly closer to the city, there are still long queues at home opens and multiple applications for available rentals.”
According to www.reiwa.com, the suburbs that saw the most growth in their median weekly house rent price in December were Balga (up 5.7 per cent to $700), Secret Harbour (up 4.5 per cent to $700), Hamilton Hill (up 4.4 per cent to $710), Spearwood (up 4.2 per cent to $750), and Kelmscott (up 3.3 per cent to $620).
The suburbs that saw the most growth in their median weekly unit rent price in December were Crawley (up 7.9 per cent to $680), Fremantle (up 4.2 per cent to $750), Subiaco (up 4.2 per cent to $750), Wembley (up 3.6 per cent to $580), and Como (up 3.4 per cent to $677).
Listings for rent
There were 1,716 properties available for rent on www.reiwa.com at the end of December. This was 23.6 per cent lower than November and 3.9 per cent lower than the same time in 2024.
Median leasing times
Homes leased in a median of 16 days during December, one day slower than November and a year ago.
www.reiwa.com data showed the suburbs recording the fastest median leasing times were Piara Waters (nine days); Subiaco and Leederville (10 days); Yanchep, Joondalup and Palmyra (12 days); and Wembley, Morley, Kewdale, and Crawley (13 days).
* Active listings – the number of properties advertised on www.reiwa.com at any given time. New listings – new properties listed for sale.
** REIWA publishes an annual median sale price based on settled sales.
Source: https://reiwa.com.au/news/homes-for-sale-in-perth-plunge-to-record-lows/
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