The property market in Perth’s south-east appears to be bucking the trend, with local real estate agencies reporting a surge in the number of enquiries from interested buyers.
Though the industry was uncertain just how the coronavirus pandemic would affect the market, O’Neil Real Estate residential sales consultant Ash Swarts said there had been an increase in the number of buyers looking to snap up a bargain in the southern suburbs.
According to Mr Swarts, the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic saw owner-occupiers delay putting their houses on the market, and even some investors pull homes off the market and quickly put in tenants.
However, by Easter Mr Swarts said it had become apparent that most were confident that WA was getting on top of the coronavirus crisis – with an influx in the number of enquiries from eager buyers.
Though the state’s peak real estate institute confirmed that sales transactions in Perth had been sitting at a record low of less than 300 per week in recent weeks, Mr Swarts said that was not the case locally – with the bottom end of the market ‘humming along’.
“We saw a huge surge of enquiries from buyers taking advantage of the good buying conditions,” he said.
“Now home opens are back, and the property market is ‘back to normal’ but we have a huge problem – no stock.
“This is a huge difference, and there is a huge lack of properties on the market right now.”
There are almost 12,000 properties currently listed for sale in WA, a figure that was closer to 17,000 the same time last year.
According to Mr Swarts, the real estate industry has predominantly received enquiries from wealthy investors, some of whom are from the eastern states, looking at cheap properties with stable tenants.
With property prices currently relatively affordable and rent prices holding, Mr Swarts said the return on investment coupled with low interest rates meant people were turning to the property market to invest.
