Perth - population growth tops the nation driving inner suburban price growth
Western Australia ’ s borders were shut for most of the pandemic however , surprisingly , Perth topped the list for capital city population growth . While it wasn ’ t possible to visit the city , it was possible to move there . It ’ s likely jobs growth was ultimately the biggest driver , with a mining boom coinciding with the worst of the pandemic .
This population growth showed up clearly in rental growth . Through the pandemic , Perth saw the strongest rental growth of any capital city . Perth house rents are now the highest ever recorded while unit rents are slowly getting back to the 2013 peak .
While Perth topped the nation for population growth and rental growth , it was surprising that price growth remained relatively subdued . This mismatch was surprising given the fundamentals that were driving the Perth market , as well as low interest rates that were driving the rest of the market .
A variety of factors could explain what ’ s been happening . One is that high levels of supply kept price growth under control , pushing down prices in the outer suburbs . The second is that there were lower levels of investor interest despite the strong fundamentals . Perth was difficult to get to through the pandemic and this may have had an impact .
Despite prices remaining stable , inner Perth has seen strong growth . Dalkeith now has a median price of $ 3.2 million , after increasing by over $ 1 million over the past 12 months . When looking at price growth over the past 12 months , Perth ’ s most expensive suburbs did particularly well .
The outlook for Perth is for continued strong population and rental growth . International borders have re-opened , as have state borders . Iron ore prices have come back but remain at a profitable level . Like the rest of Australia , overall price growth is expected to remain more subdued . Although Perth is less sensitive to interest rates than Melbourne and Sydney , the sharp increases are impacting sentiment towards housing investment .
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