Good Homes Win. Everything Else Competes on Price.
Perth property has enjoyed a very good run. For a while there, sellers could put almost anything on the market, take a few phone photos, forget to mow the lawn and still expect a queue at the first home open.
Those days are fading.
The market is not crashing.
It is simply becoming less ridiculous.
According to REIWA, Perth’s median house price increased by 16.3 per cent over the 2025–26 financial year to reach $930,000. The median unit price climbed 21.8 per cent to $670,000.
Impressive numbers.
But they are largely a rear-view mirror picture of the frantic conditions seen earlier in the financial year.
The road ahead looks flatter.
By the week ending 12 July, Perth had 6,333 properties advertised for sale.
That was 10.5 per cent higher than four weeks earlier and 78.6 per cent higher than the same time last year.
In technical economic language, buyers now have options. They can compare properties. They can go home and think about it.
They can even say, “No thanks,” without worrying that the house will sell to somebody standing behind them in the hallway.
The median selling time for Perth houses and units has also increased to 18 days.
That is hardly an eternity.
But it is a noticeable change from the days when a property could sell before the photographer had finished packing up.
So what happens when the market tracks sideways?
The best homes in each category will still sell well.
The renovated character home in the right street.
The beautifully presented villa with nothing left to spend.
The apartment with the view, the parking and the reasonable strata fees.
These properties remain scarce.
Buyers will compete for them because there is no obvious substitute.
Everything else competes on price.
If your home has the awkward floorplan, tired kitchen, busy road, unusual décor or mysterious smell coming from the back bedroom, Buyers may still engage.
They will just expect compensation.
Usually with a smaller number on the contract.
This is where Sellers can come unstuck.
They remember what their neighbour sold for six months ago.
They ignore that the neighbour had a renovated kitchen, true alfresco area, north-facing garden and did not back onto a tyre shop.
Then they add another $50,000 because their home has “better energy”.
Unfortunately, buyers do not pay extra for energy.
They pay for property.
The Perth market is not falling apart.
Population growth, employment and limited new housing supply should continue to support prices.
But increasing stock, higher borrowing costs and reduced affordability are taking some heat out of the market.
The result is likely to be a period where the overall market moves sideways while individual properties produce very different outcomes.
The lesson for sellers is simple.
Be the best property in your category.
If you cannot be the best, be the best value.
Because once buyers stop competing over your home, they start negotiating over your price.
Thinking about selling?
Want to know how to ready your home for the spring market?
Contact me now.
Derek Baston
M: 0417 99 23 24
E: sales@bastonandco.com
