By David Cresp | 7 Jun 2018

The Perth new apartment market once again grew in the March 2018 quarter, with the highest number of surveyed sales recorded in two years.

The Urbis Apartment Essentials survey for Q1 2018 recorded 410 new apartment sales in the Perth market, up from 348 sales in the previous quarter and 276 sales in Q3 2017.

The top-selling precinct for the quarter was the Inner City with 66 sales for the quarter. However, projects in the other areas outside of the Urbis precincts recorded the highest proportion of sales with 128 sales for the quarter (31% of the total quarter sales), with the top two selling projects both located in the other areas. Both these projects were newly launched to the market in the quarter.

Owner-occupier sales dominated the market with 65% of transactions, compared to 48% in the previous quarter. This is the highest level of Owner Occupier transactions recorded in Essentials surveys.

The first three months of 2018 saw projects that appealed to first home buyers. Palmyra Estate (37 sales for the quarter) and Velocity in Cannington (24 sales for the quarter) both had successful launches. These projects provided an affordable product that appealed to first home buyers.

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David Cresp, Director of Property Economics and Research, said, “The considerable increase in Owner Occupier sales this quarter was driven from both ends of the market.”

At the other end of the spectrum was the downsizing owner-occupier attracted to more luxurious apartments, resulting in premium location sales.

“The top-selling developments for the quarter included projects in Floreat, Applecross, Scarborough and Ascot. These projects had average sales prices from $640,000 to $1.2 million and were successful in attracting owner-occupiers.” noted Mr Cresp. 

This quarter 55% of sales (226 sales) were in projects in a presales stage, up from 34% in the previous quarter. This result demonstrates a renewed confidence in the Perth apartment market and increased demand for quality new developments.

There were six new project launches amounting to 702 apartments in the quarter. This was the highest number of new apartments launched in the last 12 months and reflects growing confidence in the market from developers.

Apartment development approvals remained low in the quarter, with only 257 new apartments approved. Though new approvals remain low, this allows existing approved stock to be absorbed into the market.

The Perth apartment market recovery continues, and along with it, we are seeing more activity in the downsizer market, driving owner-occupier sales.

Mr Cresp suggested, “As long as developers are able to provide consumers with apartments which more than meet their needs in locations which otherwise would not be affordable, we expect this market segment will continue to grow.”

The Perth Apartment Essentials Report found:

  • 410 sales were recorded in the March 2018 quarter, the highest level of sales recorded since the first quarter of 2016
  • The other areas recorded the highest level of sales at 128 sales, followed by the Inner City (66 sales) and Western Suburbs (57 sales)
  • The weighted average sales price for the March 2018 quarter was $682,000
  • Two-bedroom, two-bathroom product made up the majority of sales at 48% of total sales, similar to 47% recorded in the previous quarter
  • Owner-occupier sales dominated the market with 65% of transactions, compared to 48% in the previous quarter. This is the highest level of Owner Occupier transactions recorded in the Essentials survey which has been run in Perth since 2014