‘It’s a good time’ to be a homebuyer

It is a good time for Rockingham and Kwinana homebuyers or renters, as the number of properties on the market has increased and their cost dropped over the past 12 months.

The latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia have been released for the first quarter of 2016.

The median prices of houses in Rockingham and Kwinana have both dropped over the past 12 months, but increased slightly over the past three months.

The median house price in Rockingham is $420,000 compared with $442,500 in January 2015 and $372,000 in Kwinana — $13,000 cheaper than 12 months ago.

The median cost of housing units has gone on opposite trajectories between the two cities, with Rockingham’s median price dropping a staggering $53,500 over 12 months from $318,500 to $265,000.

Units in Kwinana were sold for an average price of $207,500 in the January 2015 quarter, but this has increased to $235,000.

The number of houses sold in both cities is down on 12 months ago, but a slight upturn has been recorded since the fourth quarter of 2015.

The number of homes on the market continues to increase, with 313 available in Kwinana compared with 246 in January 2015 and Rockingham jumping from 958 to 1018.

Rent prices have stayed consistent over the past three months, with the median price at $350 in Kwinana and $370 in Rockingham. Both these figures are $40 and $30 less than 12 months ago, respectively.

Finally, the number of homes for rent in Rockingham has boomed from 366 in the January 2015 quarter to 608 twelve months later. Kwinana homes for rent have spiked from 130 to 197.

The Mandurah market has mirrored its northern equivalents, with the median house price dropping from $420,000 to $395,000 over the past year, but increasing by $5000 over the past three months.

The number of sales in Mandurah was also down from 525 in January 2015 to 393 in the latest quarter, while the number of rental listings has increased from 252 to 490.

REIWA president Hayden Groves said he expected Rockingham and surrounding areas would be one of the highest-growing suburbs in the metropolitan area over the next decade.

“Areas like Kwinana and Rockingham are affordable and as such that is where the activity is currently,” he said.

“Over the last quarter 45 per cent of all transactions in the metropolitan area have been for $430,00 or less — it is a good time to be a first-homebuyer.”