Unit rents rose by 3.6 per cent to reach a new high of $570 per week.
“With a vacancy rate of 0.5 per cent, Perth is the second most competitive city for tenants, although this rate is the highest for September since 2021, indicating ongoing pressure in the rental market,” said Powell.
This modest three bedroom, one bathroom home on Gribble Avenue in Armadale is currently listed for rent for $640 per week.
But in a sign that even desperate prospective tenants are baulking on what that price can get you it has been listed for rent for nearly a month. In October 2021, the property was listed for rent for $380 a week marking a 70 per cent increase in three years.
The suburbs with the steepest rent rises are all characterised by a high concentration of low income, low savings, young families with a higher than average loan-to-value ratio.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 census data, released in 2023, revealed that Armadale and Gosnells were at a relatively greater disadvantage with many households with low income, no qualifications, or people in low skill occupations.
REIWA chief executive Cath Hart said the rental market had hit an “affordability ceiling” and was in a state of correction in parts of Perth where tenants had overpaid.
“The high level of competition we saw in the past few years has eased, so property owners can no longer expect to see tenants offering significantly over asking prices for properties,” she said.
“In some cases, when leases end, we are seeing homes come back to market at lower prices, but currently this is more of a correction than a sign of falling prices.
“It is often occurring because the original tenant offered well over the original asking price to secure the property and the new rent price reflects the current market price.“
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According to REIWA the suburbs that saw the most growth in their median weekly dwelling rent price in September were Belmont (up 8.3 per cent to $650), Waikiki (up 4.1 per cent to $573), Victoria Park (up 4.1 per cent to $640), Willetton (up 4 per cent to $780) and West Perth (up 3.2 per cent to $650).
There were 2049 properties available for rent at the end of September, 6.5 per cent lower than August 2024 but 22 per cent higher than the same time last year.
Homes leased in a median of 16 days, three days faster than August but two days slower than the same time last year.
The suburbs recording the fastest median leasing times were Morley (11 days); Joondalup, Nollamara and Spearwood (12 days); Wembley, Ellenbrook and Mandurah (13 days); and Rivervale, Balga and Belmont (14 days).
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