Perth on track to become second most expensive city to buy a house in Australia

Perth is on track to become the second most expensive capital city in Australia to buy a property, with the latest Cotality figures showing the median house price at $1.01 million.

While price growth in other cities like Melbourne and Sydney is retreating in the face of higher interest rates, Perth’s property market is surging forward on the back of a fast-growing population, recording a 7.3 per cent increase in house prices over the past quarter, compared to the national average of 2.1 per cent.

If the trend continues, Perth is on track to overtake Brisbane ($1.1m), and become the second most expensive city in the nation to buy a house, after Sydney ($1.29m).

Cotality research director Tim Lawless said the pace of growth was unsustainable, with Perth property prices having nearly doubled in the past five years (91% growth).

“In dollar terms, the 7.3 per cent rise in Perth home values over the quarter has added approximately $69,000 to the median dwelling value,” he said.

“Clearly this pace of growth is unsustainable, but continues to be supported by low supply, with advertised stock levels tracking about 40 per cent below the five-year average for this time of the year.”