Perth has been one of the nation’s growth stars over the past three years – and, we believe, will continue to deliver price growth in 2024 – but this market is at a crossroads and real estate consumers need to be careful.

This is a time when reckless buying behaviour will be punished. Buying anything you can get your hands on, in whatever location, at any price you need to pay to beat the competition, will not produce the desired results for investors seeking capital growth.

If you can’t buy with consideration and due diligence, then don’t buy.

If, however, you can get a well-researched investment in a good location and at a price that makes sense, then go ahead and buy.

Perth was undoubtedly one of the capital growth stars of Australian real estate in 2023, with the highest increase in median house price, according to PropTrack and CoreLogic, and second highest behind Adelaide, according to Domain.

Perth continues to be a busy market with good buyer demand – but we are now seeing the first signs of moderation in the three-year Perth property boom, as sales activity starts to taper off from the recent highs and the number of Days On Market to achieve a sale starting to increase.

At Hotspotting, we monitor sales activity as a forward indicator of what might happen with prices. We classify individual suburbs as rising markets, consistent markets or declining markets.

For the first time in three years, declining suburbs are more numerous than rising ones.

PropTrack recently published on sales activity, comparing the first quarter of 2024 with the first quarter of 2023. Nationally, there was a 25% increase in buyer activity, with particularly big increases in Melbourne and Sydney – but no meaningful uplift in Perth.

We have also noticed that Days on Market for individual suburbs are increasing.

While the Perth market remains solid, it’s no longer a national leader in sales momentum – and right now some of the best options for investors in Western Australia are regional cities outside of Perth.

So our new Top 5 Perth and WA Hotspots report features some of the best prospects in Regional WA, as well as locations which continue to show buoyancy in Perth.