Slow population growth has been one of the big factors in the WA housing market’s poor performance over recent years but it looks like the tide is turning.
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that while WA had seen its rate of population growth slump over recent years; it now seemed to have turned a corner and is accelerating from a low base.
The recent release of the ABS March 2019 quarter demographic data, showed the population in WA increased by 9991 persons which were its greatest quarterly increase since March 2014.
The population increase was comprised of a natural increase of 4798 persons, net overseas migration of 6335 persons and net interstate migration seeing a loss of 1142 persons.
Natural increase was -6.7 per cent lower year-on-year and net overseas migration was 33.8 per cent greater. The loss of residents from net interstate migration was the lowest it has been since December 2014.
Realmark Group Managing Director, John Percudani, said this news was a great sign for WA’s property market.
“The three major factors that affect the property market are affordable, job security and population growth to create the demand for housing,” he said.
"Interest rates are the lowest they have been in years, job security in WA is improving with a stronger mining outlook and the third one that had been missing until now was population growth to create that ideal combination for the housing market.
“Now that those three factors are beginning to align, it could be a real turning point for the property market and considering there is currently a lower level of housing stock it is really creating much better opportunities for sellers in the market place.
“It is also great to see from these ABS figures that we are attracting much higher numbers into WA through net overseas migration and losing fewer people to net interstate migration. It means our State is proving to be a more attractive option to live and work in.”
At a national level, the data showed that population growth was steady nationally, with growth slowing in NSW and Victoria, but accelerating in the other States.
At the end of the first quarter of 2019, the estimated resident population of the country was 25,287,394 persons, which was 0.5 per cent higher over the quarter and 1.6 per cent higher year-on-year.