Perth home buyers strife continues with median house prices increasing again in May

The hike in house prices for Perth is showing no signs of slowing down as the median prices increased again in May.

According to the Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) the median house prices for Perth increased by 0.6 per cent last month, taking it up to $780,000 — 18 per cent higher than what it was this time last year.

Units median prices are getting hit hard as well, rising 1.9 per cent over the same period to $535,000 — 21 per cent higher than 2024.

REIWA president Suzanne Brown said the continued growth has been a result of consumer confidence and the healthy property market.

“Population growth, while declining slightly, is still strong, which fuels demand for housing,” she said.

“The WA economy remains strong and unemployment is low. Despite headwinds in some areas of the resources sector... the industry has recorded eight consecutive calendar years of employment growth.

“There has been a strong focus on diversifying the economy from the State Government, and our growing population has led to more roles in sectors like health care and education, which is likely to continue.”

Maylands was the Perth suburb that saw the highest growth over May, increasing by 2.9 per cent to a median price of $936,000.

The other suburbs that saw a hike in the past month were Bedford with a 2.1 per cent increase ($1m), Wannanup by 1.9 per cent ($818,000), Pinjarra up 1.8 per cent ($560,000) and Southern River by 1.7 per cent ($900,000).

For a second month in a row, the median weekly rent for houses remained stable at $680 — still up 4.6 per cent from last year — but continues the stabilisation that renters will be relived to see.

“We continue to see periods of stability in the rental market, interspersed with relatively small movements in median prices,” Ms Brown said.

“This reflects the changed conditions in the rental market, including an increase in supply and increase in the vacancy rate.”

Although the median dwelling rent increased by 0.7 per cent, with West Leederville having the highest rise of 7.7 per cent ($700 a week), followed by Fremantle’s 6.3 per cent ($765) and Como’s five per cent ($735).