Property up as boom begins

A number of Pilbara suburbs have topped the list for the highest percentage growth in house prices in WA, with the top three suburbs Statewide in the region. According to the most recent quarterly data released by the Real Estate Institute of WA, median house prices throughout the Pilbara rose 14 per cent in the past year. Leading the way with 36.5 per cent growth, Karratha’s Bulgarra topped the list, closely followed by Millars Well, 32.2 per cent, and Nickol, 29.6 per cent. Despite taking out the top three spots, it wasn’t just Karratha showing promising numbers in the Pilbara. Port and South Hedland also brought in some strong figures, with Port showing median house price growth of 6.8 per cent and South 4.4 per cent. The figures come as WA’s Pilbara-centric mining and resources sector looks to be ramping up production, with investment in the sector reaching levels not seen since the peak of the 2012-13 mining boom. Real Estate Institute of WA Karratha chairman Richard Naulls said the combination of a strong resources sector, low interest rates and government COVID-19 grants had spurred the growth. “The whole town of Karratha’s median prices went up by 29 per cent year to date. Obviously, demand has been outweighing supply and therefore prices go up. Mr Naulls said talks of future developments including Woodside’s Pluto Train 2 and Yara’s development of ammonia and hydrogen plants also contributed to growing confidence in the region. “For those that were around for the 2008-09 period when we were coming to another construction phase, there was a surge upwards of house prices and house rents,” he said. “There’s confidence in future developments, on top of that, the iron ore price is high at the moment. That’s always been the driver up here, the resource sector and confidence of future projects.” Outside of the major population centres, the almost entirely BHP-employed East Pilbara town of Newman experienced a 7.1 per cent growth in median house prices in the last year, reflecting significant growth in mining activity. However, it wasn’t all good news for Pilbara property owners, with Australia’s hottest town, Marble Bar, proving to be the opposite in the property market with an enormous 52.6 per cent decline in median house prices in the last year, although low sale numbers play a significant role in the fluctuating numbers.