WA property market reaches $1 trillion after collective value rose $4 billion a week for past five years

WA’s residential property market has hit the milestone $1 trillion dollar mark, after the collective value of properties rose $4 billion a week for the past five years. The immense amount of wealth held in bricks and mortar has been highlighted by the $999.7b value of WA’s housing in December last year, according to new data from the ABS. WA’s property market is now worth a third of the value of the entire Australian stock market, following a massive jump of nearly $445b over the five years from December 2019. Daniel McQuillan, who heads up Nu Wealth, said the astonishing rise was due to Perth’s housing shortage. The WA population has grown by about 311,000 people since 2019, with only 70,000 new homes been built in the same period . Mr McQuillan said 125,000 new homes should have been built to keep pace with population growth. “The demand for housing has sharply outstripped supply in recent years and this has been the reason behind the incredible surge in property wealth,” he said. “We are simply not building enough dwellings to satisfy the demand for homes in WA, and as long as this continues then dwelling prices will continue to surge.” The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation said in April 2023 that Perth’s housing under supply would not be fully cleared until 2033. The milestone $1t value means a per capita rate of $333,000 for every man, woman and child in WA, if property wealth were evenly divided. “Owning a home has traditionally been the most effective way Australians can create wealth, and the current property market in Western Australia has been a financial bonanza for many people throughout the State,” Mr McQuillan said. “This massive wealth creation in the State through this property boom has been one of the reasons why Western Australia has been able to absorb the current cost-of-living crisis much better than other areas in Australia. “Consumer confidence in WA has remained relatively high as people feel more confident to spend when the value of their home is surging.” About half a dozen property experts late last year predicted an average of 8 per cent price hikes in Perth in 2025, with forecasts set between five to 10 per cent. But analyst Gavin Hegney has previously warned that while the year has started as a seller’s market, it may end as a buyer’s market.