Posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 in by Matt Garmony
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) reported last month that Perth’s median house price fell 2% in the June quarter and has declined for 15 consecutive months and is at the same level as December 2007 at approximately $475,000. This report was confirmed yesterday by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) that Perth’s median house price fell 1% in the month of June and 4.1% for the year which is the highest price fall for an Australian Capital City.
This property market decline was also reflected in ABS figures for building approvals which indicated a 3.5% fall nationwide for the month of June and 15.5% for the year. Western Australia building approvals fell 3% for June.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held the official interest rates at 4.75% yesterday indicating they were not as concerned about inflation, predicting inflation should stay between 2% to 3% target range for the rest of the year.
This news would bring relief to homeowners and small business, and in our opinion, hold off from any major rapid decline in Perth property values. Even with a strong Australian Dollar, uncertainty from US and some European country Debt issues, government proposed carbon tax, and rising cost of living, we are of the opinion the Perth property market will continue its subdued conditions in the short to medium term.