The latest State Budget for Western Australia has revealed a healthy local economy which should continue to boost residential house prices, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA).
The release of the 2022-23 WA Budget revealed a budget surplus of $5.7 billion for this financial year and a surplus of $1.6 billion for next year, with REIWA President Damian Collins noting the positive outlook for the WA economy should support housing.
“Today’s budget forecasts ongoing growth and strength in the WA economy as we continue to adjust to post-pandemic life,” Mr Collins said.
“We expect that this strength and the forecast 1.2 per cent increase in population will continue to underpin further growth of WA’s residential sales market.
“As such, we are maintaining our forecast of 10 per cent price growth for WA’s residential property market for this calendar year.
“The measures announced today also acknowledged the critical role of incentivising the private sector to deliver additional housing supply, both through new construction and innovative investment models.”
The WA Budget had a range of measures aimed at helping increase supply, including an expansion of the stamp duty rebate scheme for off-the-plan apartments, 300 new Keystart loans for medium and high-density housing around METRONET stations, and a 50 per cent discount on land tax liability for new build-to-rent developments.
Mr Collins said REIWA supported the measures aimed at increasing the housing supply outlined in the WA Budget.
”Our data clearly supports the Premier’s view that housing supply is tight – sales activity remains at our best levels since 2014, while listings for sale have dropped to their lowest levels in over a decade,” he said.
“The rental shortage also remains a significant challenge for WA, with vacancy rates across the state at or near record lows.
“The measures announced today will help, however, we expect it will take some time to work through the supply challenges the WA market faces.”
