Perth Home Values Have Soared 75 Percent Since COVID-19

Houses are seen in Albany, Western Australia, on May 22, 2024. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Home values in Perth have soared nearly 75 percent since the onset of COVID-19, the latest CoreLogic data shows.

Multiple other cities in the Australian market have also seen significant price increases since the start of the pandemic.

Between the onset of COVID-19 and September 2024, Adelaide housing values rose 69 percent, while Brisbane increased 66 percent.

The lift was more modest in other capital cities, ranging from 9.9 percent in Melbourne to 30.8 percent in Canberra.

Homes in Sydney, Australia’s most expensive capital city, have grown 29 percent despite its price point at the onset of COVID also being the highest.

Regional home values have also grown significantly since COVID-19, ranging from 71 percent in regional Western Australia to 30.8 percent in outer Victoria.

Combined across all capital cities, home values have spiked 34 percent since the start of COVID, while they escalated 53.7 percent in regional areas.

House Prices Rise Just a Little in September

Despite this massive growth over the past few years, the statistics show housing value growth has slowed to a crawl in Australia, rising just 0.4 percent in September and 6.7 percent over the year(pdf).

However, the Perth market is still experiencing upward momentum, up 1.6 percent in the first month of Spring. Not far behind, Adelaide home values rose 1.3 percent and Brisbane 0.9 percent.

In contrast, Melbourne house prices fell 0.1 percent in September, Canberra declined 0.3 percent, and Hobart values fell 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, in the September quarter, national house prices rose 1 percent, the lowest quarterly rise since March 2023.

Looking at these quarterly figures, Perth led the charge in growth again, followed by Adelaide, Brisbane, and Sydney.

Housing prices in all other capital cities fell, led by Melbourne sliding 1.1 percent.

The significant growth figures in Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane have pushed their median home values past Melbourne’s. The median price of its homes is now the third lowest of the capital cities, ahead of Darwin and Hobart.

Meanwhile, more Australians are looking to sell, with the new listings on the market rising 3.2 percent higher than a year ago.

Core Logic research director Tim Lawless said the rise in real estate inventory was a seasonal trend, with spring and early summer one of the busiest periods of the year for selling.

“However, the flow of freshly advertised housing stock hasn’t been this high at this time of the year since 2021,” he said.

Rent Prices Stall

The national rental index rose by just 0.1 percent in the September quarter.

Sydney, Brisbane, and Canberra all experienced a fall in rents during the quarter.

Melbourne and Perth on the other hand, saw a 0.3 percent increase in rents in the quarter, representing a slowdown from a year ago when rents were up more than 2 percent in these states.

Commenting on the situation, Lawless said, “Our affordability metrics indicated that the median income household would require around a third of their income to service the median rent value across Australia in June.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if the average household size has continued to increase as group households and multigenerational households become more common in the face of high rental costs.”