The 10 fastest growing Perth suburbs revealed as the city’s property market outperforms rest of Australia

Perth’s property market outperformed the rest of Australia last month as home values continued to climb on the back of successive interest rate cuts. House prices in the metro area surged 1.9 per cent in October, compared to the national result of 1.1 per cent, which was the fastest monthly gain since June 2023, the latest data from Cotality shows. The real estate research firm said momentum had been building since the first of three rate cuts this year. “The first rate cut in February marked a clear turning point, with home values moving through a positive inflection across most regions and gathering steam since then,” research director Tim Lawless said. But ultimately, the price growth reflected supply continuing to lag well behind demand, with advertised supply levels over the four weeks to October 26 a whopping 18 per cent below average. On an annual basis, Perth was the third strongest capital city market, with prices rocketing 9.4 per cent — versus 5.6 per cent for all of Australia’s capital cities combined — to a median value of $884,471. That compares 15.4 per cent in Darwin — which came off a lower base and brought median dwelling values to $564,473 — and 10.8 per cent in Brisbane, where most homebuyers aren’t getting much change from $1 million. In the Perth metropolitan area, the top performer over the past 12 months was Belmont-Victoria Park, followed by Kwinana, with increases of 13.6 per cent to $873,405 and 12.3 per cent to $700,392, respectively. Armadale was in third place for annual growth, with an 11.5 per cent spike bringing median values to $778,035, while Serpentine-Jarrahdale put on 11.3 per cent to $824,927. But knocking it out of the park over the period was Albany in WA’s Great Southern region, soaring 22.2 per cent to a median value just shy of $700,000. Manjimup also proved a hotspot, jumping 15.5 per cent to $625,972. The data showed regional WA was the nation’s second strongest market overall over the past 12 months, up 13.5 per cent. Cotality said another key driver behind the higher numbers was the expanded five per cent deposit guarantee scheme for first home buyers, which went live on October 1 and likely added to housing demand, especially around the lower to middle price points of the market. “Indeed, it is the broad middle and lower quartile of the market where gains are strongest,” the research firm said. Cotality said the imbalance between housing demand and supply would likely to persist for a while yet, with dwelling commencements and completions well below the decade average in recent months. The firm pointed to Reserve Bank of Australia data showing housing credit for investors had been rising at the fastest pace since June 2015, predicting a tightening of lending polices should this trend accelerate further. “Given that investors comprise an above average 38 per cent of mortgage demand, tighter credit conditions on this segment of the market would dent demand,” it said. Banking sector economists are no longer forecasting another rate cut in 2025, with Commonwealth Bank going further, forecasting no more cuts in this cycle.