The number of property buyers to choose from in Perth is the highest it has ever been in the last three years.
According to new data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, as of the end of June, there were 6121 properties for sale across the Perth metropolitan area.
At the end of May, there were about 5215 homes fully listed on the market – 14.8 per cent less than in June – and, this time last year, there were less than half that number on the market, with only 2552 properties listed for sale.
REIWA president Suzanne Brown said while the number may seem high, it was actually the normal number of properties to be listed at this time of year, and previous years were out of the ordinary.
“The number of new listings in June is in line with the five-year average for the month, which is good after the lack of listings seen earlier this year,” Brown said.
“With properties coming onto the market in reasonable numbers since the end of March, the supply side of the supply and demand equation has improved.”
He said despite the increase in property on the market, buyers have shown less interest than usual.
“We’ve also seen a noticeable shift in demand following the Federal Budget and the back-and-forth on tax legislation. Despite having more properties on the market, sales activity slowed in June, more than you’d expect at this time of year,” he said.
“Our members have reported a decrease in inquiries from investors. I’ve also seen a decrease in activity from first home buyers, the very people this law is intended to help.
“Now that the tax policies have passed the Federal Parliament, and we are more confident, it will be interesting to see if the market activity starts in the coming months.”
Investors looking to sell their properties is one of the reasons Brown believes there are more listings on the market right now.
“Perhaps we see investors, in particular, being able to sell some of their investments due to the budget … so that is contributed to the new listings coming to the market,” he said.
Along with the additional listings, Brown said the increased time it has taken to sell properties has also increased the number of properties listed for sale.
“While we’ve seen new listings increase, we’ve also seen active listings increase, which means they’re spending longer on the market than they used to,” he said.
“It’s still a very active market. My last figures were (houses were spending) 18 days on the market … and you have to remember at the end of last year, we were sitting for seven and eight days,” he said.
Brown said that just before the COVID pandemic, properties were spending an average of 56 days on the market.
Homes in Perth sold in an average of 18 days in June, four days slower than in May and five days slower than a year ago.
Units sold in an average of 18 days, five days slower than May and five days slower than June 2025.
“It’s good for the market because it’s taken the anxiety out of the market, it’s given time especially for home buyers and their purchase decision,” Brown said.
REIWA data shows that the neighborhoods that saw the largest percentage increase in new home listings from the March to June quarter were; Warwick (up 140 per cent), Gwelup (up 128.6 per cent), Huntingdale (up 126.3 per cent), Kallaroo (up 125 per cent), and Darlington (up 122.2 per cent).
The boroughs that saw the biggest percentage increase in the number of new unit listings were Crawley (up 133.3 per cent), Westminster (up 122.2 per cent),
Osborne Park (up 113.3 per cent), Morley (up 100 per cent) and Northbridge (up 70 per cent).
Leading the way for the suburbs with the most active property listings as of June 30 are Baldivis, Perth and East Perth.
Brown said the main reason for the increase in listings is that homeowners are now more willing to put their properties on the market because there were more options for them to buy a new home instead.
“I’ve always said before when there was a small inventory, it was a catch-22. There were a lot of people who wanted to sell, but … they weren’t selling until they found a new property,” he said.
“So it seems that the lumber density has decreased, (with) more stock on the market, more people than not are going, ‘Oh, I have more options to move, so now I’m going to list mine.’
“It’s just a cycle where we see listings increase, which is good because people have more options, so more people will list when they have more property to move to.”
