The general consensus is that the WA property market, especially in the metro residential market has levelled out and stabilised in 2018. The improving economic news in WA suggests a reason to be more optimistic about this year however this will be tempered by the combination of finance availability, population growth and employment security.
When looking at news headlines vs data we need to keep a perspective of the local market, there is a lot of negative noise in the press and online about the Australian property market, but we need to largely separate WA from this as it is following a property cycle at a different rate to that of the eastern states and the market drivers in WA are very different. The WA market data is different from that of the east coast and we should focus on the reality revealed by this information and not the headlines. Generally speaking, the WA market is in an increasingly healthy state.
Looking forward into the new year, overall we expect to see the WA market consolidate especially in the metro market through 2019 and improve into 2020 based on the data flowing through at this time.
“Results will vary across suburbs and property sectors depending on supply, buyer motivation and access to amenities and school catchments. However, the affordability of property is presently attractive and the sentiment is increasingly positive.”
The rental market has improved dramatically in the second half of 2018 and this is an increasingly forward indicator to conditions in the sales market this year.
We expect that the potential restrictions in finance availability to be the primary influencing factor in 2019, together with the supply of properties for sale versus demand. As consequence prices may stay subdued in the first half of this year, but leading into 2020 this could be different depending on economic and financial conditions at that time.
Key indicators to watch in 2019 are loan approvals, property sales clearance rates and the average days on market reports, to get a sense of the market direction. Combine these market indicators with reports on population growth to indicate basic demand plus employment rate to indicate security and sentiment this will help buyers and sellers make an informed decision to make their best move in 2019.
Make your best move in 2019 with Realmark.