South West WA December 2017

The month in review: South West WA

By Herron Todd White
December 2017

In early 2017, we predicted that the year would see a bottoming out of the residential market and values stabilising. On the whole this has pretty much come to fruition. With the market being very quiet and low sales number across the region it was a tough time for agents and many agents called this as being the bottom of the market.

Sales numbers have picked up in the past few months to be more representative of long term averages however values are yet to show any significant movement. Listings are hard to come by and properties need to be priced appropriately or they will stagnate on the market. Buyers are more educated than ever and are not prepared to pay above market value.

There still appears to be a good level of demand for beachside properties particularly in Busselton and Dunsborough however the top end of the market i.e. above $1.5 million is still quiet with very few transactions.

The major residential development Dunsborough Lakes has been quiet however is expected to run out of stock soon which may place upward pressures on values. Vasse, Newtown, Provence, Brookfield, Treendale, Millbridge and Dalyellup are all continuing to expand with limited movement in values.

The rural residential market in Yallingup and Margaret River experienced a lot of activity mid year as would be expected with the green fields aplenty and there have been a number of significant sales which will keep the median prices up. However there are only a few small subdivisions providing new stock in this sector which could place upward pressures on values.

The rental market was weak early on in the year with high vacancies and falling rental values however it has picked up more recently which is often the case in the later part of the year and current vacancies are very low, putting upward pressure on rental values.

One notable exception has been Withers. Significant competition has entered the market and values have fallen in Withers with the State Housing Commission (SHC) deciding to sell a relatively large number of properties in Withers. This is reportedly part of their reconcentration project. The process is to relocate existing tenants, refurbish and prepare homes for sale. It is reported that 25 tenancies are to be relocated to other areas. The SHC sold at least six properties between March and November 2017 with several more currently under contract with prices ranging from $175,000 to $195,000.