Perth - 29 Aug 2014: Current data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australian released today show no movement in Perth’s median house price for August.

REIWA president David Airey said the metropolitan median price was steady at $540,000 but that sales turnover had slumped.

“Turnover for houses is down by almost 25 per cent for the three months to August, however there is always a seasonal dip in sales during the winter months and this tends to pick up as we head into spring weather,” Mr Airey said.

There were 1,734 reported sales in the month of August, down by 6 per cent on July.

Sales were weakest through cities of Stirling, Fremantle, Vincent and Kwinana along with the western suburbs.  

Mr Airey said low consumer confidence was impacting on the market.

“The number of properties on the market is up by 1 per cent for the month of August, now sitting at 10,049 listings,” Mr Airey said.

Increased listings were strongest through the cities of Bayswater and Bassendean, up by 54 properties to 406, and also through City of Vincent, up by 30 properties to 215.

Listings fell most strongly through the northern end of Joondalup, dropping 43 properties to 231.

Mr Airey said the rental market was also showing signs of stabilisation, with no change in the median rent.

“This is steady at $450 per week despite the high vacancy rate of 4.2 per cent in the three months to August,” Mr Airey said.

Typically this was around $450 for a house and $430 for a unit, apartment or villa.

REIWA data show that the number of rental listings is up by 47 per cent on the same time last year with 5,903 properties currently on the market.

“While these listings came down a little for the month of August, they had increased through June and July by around 10 per cent. Many of these new rentals were through Joondalup, Wanneroo, Armadale and Cockburn,” Mr Airey said.