The latest Goldfields-Esperance Housing and Land Summary has been published, showing continued strong demand in both the regional rental and sales markets during the first half of 2022.
Across the region, house and unit sales activity remained elevated compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. The total number of house transactions (sales) during the January-June 2022 (H1 2022) period was 566 – 91 percent higher than the same period in 2019.
Demand for units continued to grow during H1 2022, with the region experiencing the highest number of unit sales in a decade (92 transactions). The number of unit sales in H1 2022 was nearly four times higher than the same period in 2019.
Regional median house prices increased by 4 percent over H1 2021 prices, while regional median unit prices increased by 13 percent.
The region recorded 58 vacant residential land sales in H1 2022, indicating that land sales activity has stabilised after a highpoint in 2020. However, vacant land transaction activity remains elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels.
During H1 2022, residential property on the market sold at the fastest rate in a decade. For all residential property classes, the average time to sell fell by 30 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, from 84 days in H1 2021 to 59 days in H1 2022.
The region’s rental market remained exceptionally tight during the first half of 2022. As of June 2022, the regional rental vacancy rate was 0.47 percent. Median weekly rents surged by 21 percent over the year to H1 2022, reaching $435. Over a 5-year period, regional median weekly rents have increased by 45 percent.
In the regional centres of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Esperance, median weekly rents increased year-on-year by 26 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Median rents hit $464 per week in the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and $363 per week in the Shire of Esperance during H1 2022. The rental vacancy rate at the end of June 2022 was 0.3 percent in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and 0.1 percent in Esperance.
Published half-yearly by the Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission, the Housing and Land Summary is designed to help inform stakeholders about residential property market trends and issues. The Summary provides a market profile of each Goldfields-Esperance local government area as well as suburb profiles for the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
The Goldfields-Esperance H1 2022 Housing and Land Summary is available here.