National values rise, with Perth leading annual growth
According to CoreLogic, residential property values rose by 0.4% across Australia in March 2025. Darwin experienced the highest rise of all capital cities during the month of March, with an increase of 1.0%. This was followed by Adelaide (0.8%), Melbourne (0.5%), Brisbane (0.4%), Sydney (0.3%), and Perth and Canberra (both 0.2%). Meanwhile, Hobart was the only capital city to experience a decline in dwelling values, falling by 0.4%.
Dwellings in Perth rose by 0.2% over the past quarter and by 11.9% over the past year, maintaining the strongest annual rise in the nation (CoreLogic, 2025).
Perth housing market remains tight amid low listings
According to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), there were only 5,091 properties listed for sale during the week ending 30 March 2025. This is up from the 4,829 recorded four weeks prior and the 3,951 recorded in the same week last year. The number of listings is still well below the 13,500 typically required for a balanced market.
The time to sell a house in the Perth market remained unchanged at 13 days in March 2025, which is 4 days longer than a year ago. The time to sell a unit has also increased to 13 days during this period (REIWA, 2025).
The graph below demonstrates the downward trend of stock availability within the Perth market to the week ending 30 March 2025.
Source: REIWA and Momentum Wealth Research
Increase in Perth rental listings
According to REIWA, Perth’s median rental dwelling price rose to $680 per week in March 2025, which is 4.8% higher than 12 months ago. The median rental price for houses rose to $690 per week, while the median rental price for units remained unchanged at $650 per week. Over the past few months, rental prices have remained relatively stable, suggesting that the market may have reached its affordability threshold. As a result, many renters are seeking alternatives, such as shared accommodations or cheaper units, to cope with costs.
There were 2,112 properties listed for rent in Perth during the week ending 30 March 2025. This is an increase from the 2,016 recorded four weeks prior and the 1,850 listings recorded around the same time last year (REIWA, 2025) but still below the approximately 6,000 listings required for a balanced market.
The graph below shows the number of homes available for rent and Perth’s vacancy rate for the week ending 30 March 2025.
Source: REIWA and Momentum Wealth Research
In March 2025, Perth’s vacancy rate increased to 2.5%, which is the first time that the Perth rental market has reached 2.5-3.5% range since November 2019. The range is used to indicate if the rental market is balanced or not. During March 2025, it took a median of 15 days to lease a property, which is the same as 12 months ago. (REIWA, 2025)
RBA holds cash rate
On 1 April 2025, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) opted to leave the cash rate on hold at 4.10%. This was the first meeting after the RBA’s decision to lower the cash rate from 4.35% in February 2025.
The RBA Board highlighted that “Inflation has fallen substantially since the peak in 2022, as higher interest rates have been working to bring aggregate demand and supply closer towards balance.” The RBA stressed that the future remains uncertain and that not all economic participants are experiencing similar levels of recovery. The RBA is currently trying to keep inflation within its target range of 2-3%, while also focusing on improving employment. The current state of global politics and the uncertain global trade environment will make this difficult and may lead to further changes in the cash rate throughout 2025 (RBA, 2025).
ANZ had previously forecast just one more rate cut for this year, which would have brought the cash rate down to 3.85% by year-end. However, ANZ has recently revised its forecast to align with the other three major banks (CBA, NAB, and Westpac). Now, all four major banks are anticipating three rate cuts before the end of 2025, with the first potentially occurring as early as next month. This would see the cash rate fall to 3.35% by the end of the year.
The chart below provides an overview of the cash rate movements since the early 1990s.
Source: RBA and Momentum Wealth Research
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