Margaret River and Busselton among bright spots

Industry observers says the Capes region has offered a ray of light in WA’s rural property market which isn’t keeping up with the Perth property boom. CoreLogic Asia Pacific Head of Research Tim Lawless said Perth’s housing market settled at a 10.3 per cent home values increase in the latest study, with house prices up 10.6 per cent and units soaring slightly behind at 8.4 per cent. But values in WA’s country towns spiked just 1.8 per cent during the three months to May after little movement throughout the previous year. Mr Lawless noted a 5.2 per cent sprout in the Augusta, Margaret River and Busselton region. According to Mr Lawless, most States saw their regional markets grow at stronger rates than their capital cities, but WA was an exception. He said this was likely due to the sheer affordability of Perth, which meant locals weren’t incentivised to explore the regions as a homebuying option. “Also, the weaker performance across the regional areas of WA can be attributed to the different economic performances across different aspects of the mining and resources sector, agricultural markets and lifestyle regions,” Mr Lawless said. “Growth in home values over the past year has been skewed towards some of the more affordable regions of Perth.” Mr Lawless said there were “a few headwinds” still to come once new housing supply came onto the market and long-term fixed interest rates increased.