Western Australia Outlook The Western Australia property market is expected to steady and begin to strengthen over the remainder of 2011, on the back of a falling market throughout the first half of the year. The market is currently very slow and has just about stalled. Banks are cautious in their lending and infrastructure is slow at keeping pace with developments. Port Hedland and Karatha are maintaining momentum, due to limited stock, and there is a nine month supply of housing stock in Per th – 4 months is considered a normal market. The vacancy rate in Geraldton is in excess of 5 per cent as a result of a lag between the mining boom and the Government’s response to infrastructure needs. Investors have jumped in, but the infrastructure is yet to follow. The burgeoning resources boom and forecast population growth figures are expected to see the market rebound strongly in the coming years. The First National Property Market Outlook Mid-Year Update Survey shows 72.7 per cent of Western Australia member respondents said they anticipated the market would steady in the coming six months and 27.2 per cent said they believed it would rise.
34 First National Real Estate 2011 Property Market Outlook