Leasing activity in Perth has risen significantly with latest figures for the last December quarter showing improvement of 23.8 percent compared to the prior corresponding period.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) president Hayden Groves said its data showed all five sub-regions experienced notable increases in activity over that time.
“While conditions in the rental market remain challenging, the spike in leasing activity levels between December quarter 2015 and December quarter 2016 is a real positive for the market. Tenants are very active and are taking advantage of favourable conditions,” Groves said.
The rental activity also lifted on a quarterly basis, with REIWA’s data showing a 1.9 percent increase in the three months to December last year.
“All but two of the sub-regions saw a lift in activity over the quarter, with the South East sub-region the stand out performer.
“At a suburb level, the big winners for leasing activity in the December quarter were Burswood, up 78.9 percent, Palmyra, up 70.3 percent, Melville, up 59.1 percent, Langford, up 54.5 percent, and Beechboro, up 53.8 percent,” Groves said.
Tenants remain the beneficiary of Perth’s current rental market cycle, with the overall median rent price for both houses and units adjusting back to $360 per week in the December quarter for last year.
Groves said median rent prices had softened slightly across all sub-regions.
“In good news for investors, though, numerous suburbs within each sub-region bucked this trend to record increases in their weekly median rent prices over the quarter.
“Ocean Reef and Burswood, in particular, saw substantial increases in their median rent prices, which can be attributed to a greater proportion of higher priced rentals leasing during the period. In both these suburbs there was stronger demand for three to five bedroom homes, which usually command a higher weekly rent comparative to smaller properties,” Groves said.
“There is still plenty of opportunity for investors in the Perth rental market. In addition to leasing activity rising and interest rates holding at all-time lows, we also see listings for rent not increasing at the rate they once were.
“If you’re thinking about buying your first rental property, or acquiring another, now is a great time to take advantage of increased levels of tenant activity, more affordable house prices and low-interest rates,” Groves said.
On average, it was one day quicker to lease a property in the December quarter of last year than it was in the September quarter.
“On an annual basis, the average days to lease a house or unit have come in by almost a week, with reiwa.com data showing it was six days faster to find a tenant in the December quarter 2016 than it was in the December quarter 2015,” Groves said.
