Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) spokesperson Brian Greig said Perth, Mandurah-Murray, Greater Bunbury and Kalgoorlie-Boulder had experienced varying degrees of positive growth during the first quarter of 2009 — but none more so than Geraldton- Greenough.
Mr Greig said Geraldton-Greenough’s median house price increased by $15,000 or about four per cent — from $335,000 to $350,000 — between December and March, doubling growth figures of the strong-performing Perth, Bunbury and Kalgoorlie regions in the same period.
He said the number of homes sold in Geraldton-Greenough also grew by 40 per cent between December 2008 and March 2009 — equating to about 50 extra home sales.
Only Perth could match the 40 per cent increase in sales posted by Geraldton-Greenough during the quarter, with Mandurah and Bunbury posting 30 per cent increases, which Mr Greig attributed to strong first homebuyer activity.
Professionals Mid West Realty general manager and REIWA Geraldton chairperson Peta McKenzie said strong housing sales in Geraldton had not been confined to the first homebuyer sector, with signs of positive growth across the board.
“I think a reasonable percentage of home sales can be attributed to the first homeowners grant, but also the Mid West has seen a period of relative confidence in the market,” she said.
“We can’t say we haven’t been affected by the global slump but we have been insulated from it by infrastructure projects like Oakajee Port and the SKA project.”
She said falling interest rates meant paying off a mortgage was in many cases now comparable to rental costs, which was reflected by an 0.5 per cent increase in rental vacancy rates, to 3.2 per cent, in the quarter.
Despite the increase in vacancy rates, weekly median rents for houses in Geraldton increased by almost seven per cent since December, to $320 per week.
ROBERT TURNER GERALDTON GUARDIAN