“Perth will continue to lead the country in resilience due to the fundamental fact that, contrary to the overheated markets of Sydney and Melbourne, these rate hikes have made Perth property less affordable but far from unaffordable.
“Until interest rates rise to levels that make WA property unaffordable, the fundamentals of rising demand and chronic undersupply will prevail.”
This The Reserve Bank of Australia holds its final meeting of the year on Dec. 6, when rates are expected to rise to a 10-year high of 3.1 percent It is expected to reach 8% by the end of the year as it tries to control inflation.
Lawless said the movement in interest rates remained the most important factor affecting the outlook for house prices.
While the RBA may return to a more aggressive policy stance, there is a good chance that interest rates in Australia will peak in the first half of 2023, if not in the first quarter, he said.
“If the RBA hikes the cash rate by a further 25 basis points, for a cumulative increase of 3 percentage points, we could see the cash rate hit 3.1 per cent in December,” he said.
REIWA chief executive Cath Hart said the Perth house price index had barely budged since rates started to rise in May.
“A $500,000 mortgage has increased by $760 a month since May, while those with a $1 million mortgage have seen their monthly payments increase by $1,520,” she said.
“Rising interest rates are clearly affecting prices and borrowing capacity in the eastern states.
“Perth, on the other hand, is well positioned to respond to interest rate changes.
“Western Australia’s economy and finances are among the strongest in the world. The population continues to grow and Western Australia has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
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“At the most recent RBA meeting, they pointed out that there are currently more job advertisements in WA than there are active candidates.” 1,675,000), Bayswater (up 2.1 percent to $720,000), Dawesville (up 2.0 percent to $520,000) and Falcon (up 1.9 percent to $453,500).
Other suburbs recording strong price growth were Sorrento, Parmelia, Kelmscott, Heathridge and Tapping.
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