Perth Market Update: Rates on Hold, Stock Rising — Should You Still Buy Now?

Perth prices are still going up. But if you've been watching from the sidelines waiting for the market to "cool off," something genuinely has shifted in the last few months — just not the part most buyers expect.

The Headline Numbers

Perth's median dwelling value sits at roughly $1,046,551, up close to 24% over the past year — still one of the strongest results of any Australian capital city. Houses are averaging around $1,093,431, with units close behind. On the price chart alone, Perth looks like a market with no brakes.

But price growth and market pressure are two different things, and the second one has clearly turned.

What's actually changed

Listed stock has climbed sharply — months of supply have more than doubled over the past year — and sales volumes have slowed. Prices haven't caught up to that shift yet, but the buyer experience on the ground already has.

Stock Is Building, Even as Prices Hold

Perth spent much of the past two years as one of the tightest markets in the country, with well under a month of stock on hand at times. That's now moved out to a little over two months of supply — still lean by long-run standards, but a meaningful loosening from where things sat twelve months ago. Sales activity has slowed alongside it, with settled transactions running noticeably below the same period last year.

This is the pattern that usually shows up before price growth itself slows — more choice for buyers, slightly longer selling times, and sellers who are a little more open to negotiation than they were twelve months ago. It hasn't shown up in the median price yet. It's showing up everywhere else first.

Rates: Held, But Not Settled

The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35% at its July meeting, following three increases earlier in the year driven largely by global energy-price pressure. That's welcome news after a stretch of tightening that squeezed borrowing capacity across the board — but the Board has been clear it isn't ruling out further movement, and the next decision lands on 11 August.

A rate hold isn't a rate cut. It's a pause — and pauses can go either way from here.

So — Should You Still Buy Now?

There's no single right answer here, but there are two things worth weighing honestly:

• Waiting for a price drop is a real gamble. Growth has slowed, but it hasn't reversed — Perth remains supply-constrained, and most bank and industry forecasts still expect further gains this year, just at a gentler pace than 2025.

• Rising stock is a genuine opportunity, not a warning sign. More listings means more room to negotiate and less pressure to overbid at auction — a meaningfully different buying experience to this time last year, even with prices still climbing.

In practice, the buyers doing best right now aren't trying to time the absolute bottom of the market. They're the ones who've got their finance genuinely sorted — borrowing capacity confirmed, deposit structured, pre-approval in hand — so they can move decisively the moment the right property turns up in a slightly less frantic market.

Want to know exactly where you stand?

This article is general information only and does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Market data is sourced from Cotality and REIWA and current as at the date of publication; conditions can change quickly. Ian Freeman is a Credit Representative Number 439731 of Australian Credit Licence 384704 (Finsure Finance and Insurance Pty Ltd).