Perth’s housing market is in deep trouble
Six months ago, Perth’s housing market looked impervious to a house price correction, with values continuing to grow at a solid pace.

The tables have well and truly turned, with Perth’s dwelling values now falling at the equal fastest pace among the major capital cities, down by 1.7% over the past month, according to Cotality.

Perth’s housing market outlook looks bleak. Cotality’s latest weekly housing indicators report shows that for-sale listings have ballooned by 70.2% over the past two months – the largest rise among the capital cities:

Source: Cotality
Cotality’s monthly chart pack also shows that sales volumes have fallen more in Perth than anywhere else – down around 19% in the year to September:

Source: Cotality
Vendors in Perth are also discounting more sharply than anywhere else apart from Sydney (tied at -4.8%), suggesting they are attempting to cut prices to meet the market but still can’t make a sale:

Source: Cotality
Finally, in great news for tenants, Perth landlords are losing pricing power, with rental listings in Perth climbing by 16.9% compared to the same time last year:

Source: Cotality
The overall picture for Perth is a market where demand has evaporated, and supply is piling up. This points to a further sharp depreciation in dwelling values and slower rental growth.
Perth has always been a volatile boom-and-bust housing market. After values doubled over five years, we are now firmly in the correction phase.
