Depending on which headline you read this week, Perth is either Australia's most resilient property market or a boom that's finally running out of steam.
Both things are true. And understanding the difference matters a lot if you're thinking about buying there.
Perth's property market has been one of the strongest in Australia for the past three years. Median house prices rose 16.5 per cent over the past year to reach $920,000. Unit prices climbed 22% over the same period to a median of $660,000.
Those are remarkable numbers by any measure.
But something shifted in April and May 2026. The time taken to sell a property in Perth has nearly doubled in three months. In February, houses were selling in a median of nine days. By May, that had stretched to 14 days. Units moved from eight days to 13.
So which is it? Resilient market or fading boom?
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The slowdown in Perth is real. More listings, longer selling times, and buyers taking more time to make decisions are all genuine shifts from the frenzied conditions of early 2026.
But context matters enormously here.
Fourteen days to sell a house is not a struggling market. It's still well below the 50-day average Perth recorded in the five years before COVID. And the suburbs leading the market, including Nollamara, Coolbellup, Subiaco, and Hillarys, are still seeing homes sell in as little as six or seven days.
What Perth is experiencing looks less like a market turning and more like a market normalising after an extended period of extraordinary conditions.
The structural reasons buyers and investors have been drawn to Perth over the past few years remain firmly in place.
Affordability relative to eastern capitals. At a $920,000 median house price, Perth remains considerably more affordable than Sydney and is closing in on Brisbane. For buyers priced out of eastern seaboard markets, Perth continues to offer better value for comparable property.
Population growth and migration. Western Australia continues to attract interstate and overseas migrants driven by employment in resources, construction, and services. That underlying population growth creates sustained housing demand that doesn't evaporate because interest rates moved.
Supply shortage. Perth has a structural shortage of housing relative to demand. Building approvals have not kept pace with population growth, and the construction pipeline is constrained by cost and labour availability. Until supply catches up, that shortage continues to underpin prices.
Rental yields. Perth's rental market remains tight. Yields in well-located suburbs are among the strongest of any Australian capital, which continues to attract investors looking for income alongside capital growth potential.
Economic strength. Western Australia's economy, underpinned by resources exports and a diversified services sector, remains one of the strongest state economies in the country. Employment levels are high and wages growth has been solid, which supports the ability of buyers to service mortgages even in a higher rate environment.
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Three consecutive RBA rate rises have had a real effect on Perth buyers. Borrowing power has reduced. Monthly repayments on existing mortgages are higher. And some buyers who were active in early 2026 have stepped back to reassess.
That's not a Perth-specific story. It's playing out across every Australian capital. What's notable is that Perth's price growth, at 16.5 per cent year on year for houses, has remained positive through all three of those rate rises.
The question for buyers isn't whether rate rises have an effect -- they clearly do. It's whether the underlying demand story is strong enough to absorb that pressure and continue growing over the medium term. Most analysts looking at Perth's fundamentals believe it is.
Perth in 2026 is not the same trade it was two years ago, when the market was clearly undervalued relative to eastern capitals and the growth runway was obvious to almost anyone looking.
It's a more nuanced market now. But it still makes sense for specific buyer types.
Investors seeking yield. Rental yields in Perth continue to outperform most eastern capital markets. For investors who want income alongside the possibility of capital growth, Perth remains one of the more compelling options available.
Interstate buyers seeking value. For buyers relocating from Sydney or Melbourne, Perth still offers more property for less money in comparable locations. That value proposition doesn't disappear because prices have risen. It changes the degree of the advantage.
First home buyers with flexibility on location. Perth offers first home buyers access to new developments and established properties at price points that are genuinely difficult to find in Sydney or Brisbane. For buyers who can consider Perth, the entry points are still meaningful.
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For buyers exploring Perth's property market, Coposit currently lists eligible off-the-plan developments in Western Australia. Securing a property off the plan means locking in today's price with $10,000 upfront and spreading the remaining deposit in weekly instalments during the construction period.
In a market where prices have risen significantly over the past three years but may moderate in the near term, locking in at current prices rather than waiting for conditions to feel more certain has historically proven to be the better strategy.
Browse eligible Perth developments through the Coposit app.
Coposit helps buyers get into new developments sooner by spreading the deposit over time. To explore eligible properties or learn how it works, download our app or contact our team.
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