Bunbury outpaces all regional centres in September quarter

REIWA data shows Bunbury was the top-performing regional centre for the September quarter. Its median house sale price rose 6.7 per cent to $555,000. A number of factors are driving price growth. Bunbury has good employment opportunities, while improving medical facilities and schools have helped to retain people who move there, making it far less transient now. Busselton Margaret River Airport has been a game changer. It means people no longer have to live where they work, and many fly-in, fly-out families have moved to Bunbury to enjoy a South West lifestyle. Bunbury is also very affordable, and REIWA members report more buyers are turning to the area as neighbouring Busselton and Dunsborough become out of reach. While the market remains competitive and prices are still rising, members feel buyers are becoming more price sensitive. They are now viewing multiple properties before making a decision. This reflects small changes in supply and demand. More properties are coming to market, giving buyers more choice and reducing some of the urgency in the buying decision. There has also been a shift in buyer dynamics, with rising prices slowing activity from eastern states investors and softening competition for properties. Also recording growth in median house sale price over the quarter were Albany (up three per cent to $550,000), Broome (up three per cent to $685,000), Busselton (up 3.8 per cent to $830,000), Esperance (up four per cent to $460,000), Geraldton (up 4.6 per cent to $429,000) and Kalgoorlie-Boulder (up 3.1 per cent to $385,000). Karratha remained stable at $550,000 while Port Hedland was the only regional centre to record a decline, dropping 0.9 per cent to $540,000. Kalgoorlie-Boulder led the regional rental market, with its median weekly rent increasing 8.3 per cent to $650. Despite the strong growth, there are signs of possible change. While rent prices for new leases have risen, some owners are choosing not to increase rents in existing leases in order to keep good tenants. Members feel the market may be reaching an affordability ceiling, as we have seen happen in Perth. They report a lot of enquiry at the lower end of the market, with $550 per week being the ideal price for many tenants. We may see price growth slow in coming quarters. Other regional areas which recorded a rise in median weekly rent were Albany (up 5.1 per cent to $520), Busselton (up 5.7 per cent to $740) and Port Hedland (up 2.4 per cent to $973), while Bunbury and Karratha remained stable at $600 and $1000 respectively. The regional centres recording declines were Broome (down 25 per cent to $900), Esperance (down 3.6 per cent to $530) and Geraldton (down four per cent to $480). Read the full report on reiwa.com.