Which suburbs are selling the fastest according to new REIWA data
The time Perth homes spend on the market has jumped to an average of two weeks, new data shows, but homes are still being bought in suburbs once considered working class.
Coolbellup and Nollamara are leading the fastest house sales, with an average time on market of six days, according to Real Estate Institute of WA data.
Realty Plus sales manager Fin Greenwood said Coolbellup was known as “Coobiaco” among locals who noticed the suburb’s transformation.
“It’s funny, most of the locals who have been there a long time now call it Coobiaco.” [because] Things have gotten absolutely crazy in the last few years,” Greenwood said.
Coolbellup was founded in 1954 as a suburb built almost entirely by the State Housing Commission and became home to many new experiments in social housing.
According to Cockburn Council, the experiments included: The Department of Native Welfare purchased dozens of houses to give Aboriginal families suburban homes; Large apartment blocks are being built to increase housing density for temporary accommodation for new immigrants and for various economic and family situations.
By 2026, the average sales price of a home in Coolbellup is $930,000.
While home sales have increased exponentially over the past few years, Greenwood said it’s been a “steady increase.”
“We’ve definitely had a huge pool of buyers over the last few months, and I think it’s gotten to the point where there’s not a lot of inventory, and everything that’s coming out is moving along at a pretty rapid pace,” he said.
As for what draws buyers to the area, Greenwood says the suburb as a whole appeals to all demographic groups.
“I think it’s a great suburb, if you look at the surrounding suburbs it’s still great value compared to everything else around there like Hilton, Kardinya and Hamilton Hill,” he said.
“And it’s very close to the beach, there’s a lot of parks, and there’s a lot of subdivision and development potential for people, so yeah, it’s a great area.”
Also among the fast-selling suburbs were Subiaco, Hillarys, Forrestfield, Dianella and Iluka, which spent an average of seven days on the market, followed by Yokine, Woodvale and Lesmurdie with eight days.
While the average house was sold in 14 days on average in May, three months ago it took almost half that time, an average of nine days.
At the other end of the market, Perth suburbs, where homes take the longest to sell, face waiting times of almost 50 days.
The average time on the market to sell a home in Southern River reached 47 days, followed by Innaloo at 43 days.
Darch homes stayed on the market for an average of 32 days, Cottesloe sold in 31 days, and Mount Pleasant homes sold in 30 days.
REIWA President Suzanne Brown said the Perth property market had eased in the last two months.
“The March quarter was characterized by below-average new listings and very strong demand, which saw properties close in just over a week,” he said.
“We saw over 1,000 new listings per week in April and May, which contributed to the market softening.”
Brown said there has been a shift in “buyer sentiment” with an increase in new listings, giving buyers more options and time to decide.
“They are also dealing with the effects of three consecutive interest rate hikes,” he said.
“This affects borrowing power and also affordability when you have a mortgage. In response to this, buyers are becoming more selective.”
“As a result of these changes, properties are taking slightly longer to sell.”
However, at this point, although the sale of houses is taking a little longer, the data shows that this is not much different compared to the same period last year.
“Yes, it’s a change from the brisk selling conditions experienced earlier this year, but it’s on par with time frames this time last year and still well below the 50-day average seen in the five years before COVID,” Brown said.
