How Much is a Typical Average House on Sale in Perth?

According to recent statistics, the median house price in Perth is now $460,000, down $14,000 since the $474k record in December 2007. This is good news for house hunters but there is a question about how long this buyers market will continue. Rob Druitt, ever the cheerleader for rising house prices, believes that houses will start heading up once the new stamp duty laws kick in July and that many potential house buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time. True.

However, there is also much talk about the possibility of interest rates going up to even double digits in the coming months! This will affect confidence in the real estate market as buyers think twice about tying themselves down to an interest of 10% upwards! We are talking about Generation Y who would continue to try live a comfortable life, even if it means rent or stay at home with mum and dad. Any reason to maintain status quo will be good enough. So how will the coming year wash up? I believe the house prices will continue to flatten out for the rest of 2008. But who am I but a man without a house :)

Perth houses drop most in Real Estate last year

From a recent survey... Perth house prices have dropped 1.1% over the past year, more than any other city in Australia.

City	Median	Change % (qtr)	Change % (year)
Sydney	$554,000	-0.3	5.9
Perth	$460,000	-2.5	-1.1
Canberra	$445,000	-6.8	6
Melbourne	$432,500	-8.4	13.7
Darwin	$420,000	1.8	7.7
Adelaide	$362,100	2	19.1
Hobart	$335,000	1.5	13.9

Perth Bed and Breakfasts

A Deloitte world survey has come up with a very surprising result about Hotel Occupancy rates. Apparently Perth has the highest hotel occupancy rate in the world! This has resulted in the Tourism industry asking WA homeowners to start up Bed and Breakfasts to cater for the increase in demand. Another option to consider when looking for a house investment or a means to get a little extra cash on the side when the mortgage gets tough.

WA homeowners called on to host tourists

21st May 2008, 6:15 WST

The Tourism industry has turned to Perth homeowners to host paying guests as demand for hotel rooms in the booming city exceeds availabilty.

Strong competition for rooms in the CBD means owners in the "right" suburbs could boost their incomes by opening bed-and-breakfasts, real estate boss Andrew Moore said.

More here

Unlucky 13 suburbs in Australia for investment

According to this news article, the following are the 13 worst places to invest in Australia. Real Estate is not an exact science and past trends dont necessarily indicate future performance but for what its worth, here's the list:

* Bankstown, western Sydney, NSW
* Blacktown, western Sydney, NSW
* Darwin, northern suburbs, NT
* Dinmore, Brisbane, Qld
* Esperance, southeast, WA
* Giru, north Qld
* Kalgoorlie, outback WA
* Katherine, outback NT
* Lyndhurst, Melbourne, Vic
* Mount Isa, western Qld
* Parramatta, western Sydney, NSW
* Shepparton, northern Vic
* Sunshine Coast, Qld

A Bank Stalks a Dragon: Australian homebuyers lament and shareholders rejoice

What do you think happens when one bank controls 25% of the home loan market in Australia? We are about to find out if Westpac is successful in taking over St George Bank. For those looking for a house in Australia, this could potentially be poisonous to the competitiveness of the Australian bank industry.

In Australia, there is a four pillar policy which effectively disallows the big four banks from merging with one another in order to ensure there is enough competition. However, they are free to consider smaller competitors but ultimately the Government does have a say on the matter and the country should be hoping that this recent merger proposal will be enough to awaken the new Labor treasurer. He has been often criticised for not being strong enough to stand up against the banks so it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the coming weeks.

Here is a recent article that appeared on the ABC News website:

Westpac St George merger will reduce Competition: Choice

Consumer advocates are concerned a proposed merger between Westpac and St George Bank would reduce competition in the banking sector.

If successful, the merger would be the biggest in Australian banking history, making Westpac the nation's dominant home lender with a 25 per cent market share and a 10-million strong customer base.

Shares in the two banks have been suspended this morning on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The offer comes little more than three months after Gail Kelly jumped ship from St George to become chief executive at Australia's fourth biggest bank.

(Extract from this article)

Sydney House Prices Bubble Bursts

HOUSE prices in some parts of Sydney have almost halved as battling borrowers struggle to keep up with increasing interest rates.

Rising interest rates, both from the Reserve Bank and those imposed independently by the banks, have been blamed for tipping the market over the edge and "pricking the house-price bubble".

Property auction clearances remained flat over the weekend too, with rates slipping below 50 per cent in Sydney and Brisbane.

Read more here: http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,23681230-5013951,00.html


According to the article, Parramatta, Merrylands and Punchbowl are the worst hit suburbs, losing over $100k on the sale of the property compared to their purchase price. It seems that the reason for the price drop is the over confidence buyers had in the property market. This is quite common as everyone sees the chart pointing 45-75 degrees towards lotsa money and forget that prices CAN come down (yes, even in real estate). Predictions are that it can only get worse with the increases in interest rates as well as the increases coming from inflation. Depending on the Federal Budget this could get worse.

How much was that housey in the window... yesterday?

There are realestate websites all over the place. They tell you how much the houses are right now but have u ever wondered how much they were before? That sort of information I thought was impossible to find. Then after googling my street, i found http://www.oldlistings.com.au/ ! What an awesome idea! They list all these houses that were on the market, when they were listed and how much they were listed at. If the house stayed on the market and relisted, they tell you how much was the first and second prices!

Not only that, you can also have a look at ANY street in that suburb for a more filtered search. Check it out. It seems to have listings from around the country. it seems quite comprehensive but if anyone else knows more (or a rep from oldlistings.com.au appears) feel free to shed more light. This has made real estate research more interesting... now to check out an example in Perth, let's go for a street in Mount Lawley http://www.oldlistings.com.au/real-estate/WA/Mount+Lawley/6050/buy/1/WEST

House prices on realestate.com.au vs First National

I noticed a house on sale at the First National website as selling from $425,000. Later I was looking at realestate.com.au and saw the same house at $435000-$445,000. I mention this here because many newbies like me are wandering into a market which we are not familiar with. We may know where to get the best Indian food in Perth or where is the cheapest place to get petrol (www.fuelwatch.wa.gov.au if you were wondering) but when it comes to house prices.. its another ball game. Sure we may save $3 at the petrol station with our fuel voucher but if you muck THIS decision up, it could cost you $25,000!

I can say that I am just sussing the market now to see what GAMES people play and this is one of them. Some will say it is because one is more updated than the other. What other tricks have you seen or do you know about? If you are a real estate agent with a conscience, but a reputation to uphold, feel free to post anonymously :) My Generation thank you.