State of Markets - WA June 2012

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Affordable housing options to increase

Western Australia will see the state government’s investment in affordable housing options increase, according to Housing Minister Troy Buswell.

At the heart of this support is the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), which will help to fund an extra 1,000 affordable rentals on top of the 5,000 already committed to.

“Additional funding will bring the total NRAS commitment in WA to 6,000 incentives, meaning we are well on the way to delivering the state government’s target of an additional 20,000 affordable housing properties by 2020,” Mr Buswell said.

The government is keen to involve investors in the scheme, and considers private rentals a significant part of the strategy.

A key component is collaboration between the government and investors in the private sector. NRAS is one part of this solution, Mr Buswell said.

Rental demand soars in Perth

Investors are expected to return to the Perth market, with a local agency citing intense interest from potential tenants last week.

“I received a report this week from one of our senior property managers on a property that was opened for inspection, with 20-plus people viewing the property in 15 minutes,” Graeme Baxter, managing director at ACTON, said.

“There were six applications submitted and [the property was] successfully leased at $20 above the asking price.

“This level of activity should see investors returning to the property market,” he said.

Mr Baxter pointed to recent Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) data that show the vacancy level for residential rental properties is below two per cent in most parts of the city. REIWA also reported a 24 per cent drop in available rentals across the metropolitan area in February.

“Certainly, now is the time for sales teams to target the ‘investor market’ and expand the availability of rental stock to satisfy the demand of our burgeoning population,” Mr Baxter said.