As seen in The West Real Estate
A major talking point of the past couple of years has been the apparent shortage of properties for sale.
People often quote the number of properties advertised on reiwa.com to show there is a property shortage. These are active listings. They represent the number of properties advertised for sale at any one time. They vary day to day as properties are sold, and new properties are listed. Active listings remained below 4,000 for most of 2024, reaching a record low of 3,199 at the end of July. After rising to over 5,000 in late 2024 and early 2025, they dropped below 4,000 again at the end of June.
However, this doesn’t mean there has been a shortage of properties for sale. To gain a better understanding, you need to look at total new listings. There were 5.1 per cent more properties listed for sale in 2024-25 than in 2023-24.
If there is a consistently reasonable number of properties coming to market, what is keeping active listings so low? The answer lies in the time spent on market. Houses sold in a median of nine days for most of 2023-24, and units sold in 11. Both are selling in around two weeks now.
As a comparison, active listings sat around 16,000 during the 2018-19 financial year. This gives the impression there were more properties for sale during that period compared with 2024-25. Although there were 5,000 fewer properties listed than in 2024-25, properties stayed on the market much longer, with houses and units taking a median of 56 and 64 days respectively to sell. This kept active listings high.
If we look back further to 2013-14, a period of fairly strong growth leading up to the previous peak in property prices, active listings averaged 11,500, while new listings were about 20 per cent higher than they are now. However, houses sold in a median of 29 days and units sold in a median of 36 days.
The property market is experiencing unique conditions, with demand for established homes fuelled by ongoing strong population growth and a sustained period of low new home completions. This has seen properties sell in record timeframes and created the appearance of a shortage of homes for sale.
I will note this is a broad overview of the Perth property market and conditions vary from suburb to suburb. If you are looking to buy or sell, it is important to speak to a local REIWA agent about market conditions in your area.
Suzanne Brown
REIWA President
