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Staff Reporter
Western Australian independent agency Peard Real Estate Group has reported a 20 per cent jump in property sales, with $1.37 billion recorded for the past financial year.
CEO of Peard Real Estate Group Peter Peard said the company had sold 2,460 properties compared to 2,048 during the previous financial year.
“Falling interest rates and improving consumer confidence combined to lift property sales to above pre-GFC levels,” he said.
“In tandem with rising sales, there was also an improvement in the average selling price of a home, which rose to $557,311 during the last financial year. Overall, the average price of a home sold through the Peard Real Estate Group increased by around $23,000, or 4.3 per cent.”
Mr Peard said much of the growth had been in the $800,000 price range, with more first home buyers and second home buyers becoming active in the property market due to falling interest rates.
“There was also improvement in the $1 million-plus segment of the property market in terms of turnover, with prices stabilising rather than showing any marked improvement,” he said.
While the Peard Real Estate Group recorded a strong improvement in residential sales during the past financial year, the rental market shows the first signs of weakness in several years.
Based on the nearly 2,000 properties managed by the Peard Real Estate Group, average weekly rents rose by 10 per cent during the past financial year.
“However, much of this growth was in the first half of the year, with rental prices remaining fairly stagnant during the second half of the financial year due to rising vacancy rates," Mr Peard explained.
“The flight of renters into the first home buyer market resulted in more homes becoming available for lease during the last six months and in turn helped to put a lid on rising weekly rents."
Mr Peard said, over the coming year, his group predicted that activity would remain strong, particularly in the new building sector, as more first home buyers chose to build a home in the outer Perth areas for affordability reasons.
“Land sales will therefore continue to rise and this may put an upward pressure on house values in outer Perth suburbs," he said.
“However, the overall property market will be constrained by declining investment in the resources sector and an expected lift in unemployment rates.”
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