Property hot spot

Busselton has been named the top performing regional property market in the State in the past year by the Real Estate Institute of WA.

The Busselton urban area grew by 5.9 per cent in the year to September 2014 when compared to the year to September 2013, according to REIWA stats.

There were 494 house sales in Busselton during the period which lifted the median price by about $25,000 to $450,000.

REIWA Busselton branch chairman Joe White, who is also a principal at JMW Real Estate, said the local market was robust but price sensitive.

“If the price is right selling periods are short, and because the stock has been clearing consistently there has been modest growth because the number of sales has given buyers confidence in paying a bit more than the previous sale of similar stock, ” he said.

Mr White said Busselton was no longer seen as just a ‘seaside holiday town’ and was experiencing growth, with young families and fly-in, fly-out workers choosing to stay rather than use the market as a stepping stone to move on.

First National Busselton property consultant Jason Cooper said the past 12 months were the most positive he had seen since the downturn in 2007. “The 12-month period has been a lot brighter for home owners in Busselton, ” he said. “It’s still price reflective.

“I’d refer to it as properties being priced in the market because people are very aware of values these days.”

Mr Cooper said low interest rates were a contributing factor to the improvement.

Harcourts Busselton director Craig Edwards said he had seen an increase in sales volumes and a price recovery from what was lost over the past few years.

“I think we’re also seeing segments in the market perform better, ” he said. “Prices around the median price have gone up substantially but we’re still seeing top end prices relatively soft.”

Mr Edwards said the Busselton market was experiencing a similar growth to that seen in Perth at the start of the year.

“We’ve still got a bit of growth left in the cycle because at the moment properties are still relatively well priced for what you get, ” he said.

The Mandurah and Murray region was the second best performer in the past year with a growth of 3.8 per cent and a median house price of $405,000.

Karratha suffered the biggest blow, dropping 12.2 per cent to a median price of $630,000.