The “logjam” for sellers making Perth’s housing crisis even worse

There are so few homes available to buy or rent in Perth that many potential sellers are holding on to properties that don’t suit them, afraid that if they sell, they won’t be able to secure another home in the booming city.

The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) says this is creating a “logjam” in the market - a phenomenon which is helping to push up home prices and rents even further in the WA capital.

The details

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Image from realestate.com.au

REIWA says property listings for sale in Perth fell to a record low of 1,881 at the end of December 2025.

The organisation says this was 35.5% lower than November’s numbers and 57.2% lower than the same month in 2024.

REIWA’s President, Suzanne Brown, says the “significant imbalance between demand and supply” saw listings fall dramatically in December.

“Historically, active listings decrease in December.

“However, new listings have been significantly below long-term averages in the last six months,” she says.

“By comparison, demand remained extremely high.

“We saw FOMO return to the market, with our members reporting strong competition for homes, offers well over the asking price in many cases, and homes selling in record timeframes.”

However, despite these strong conditions favouring vendors, the state of Perth’s property market is now deterring people from listing their homes for sale, impacting the level of supply.

“Our members report there is a logjam in the market,” Ms Brown says.

“People want to sell, but with the speed of sales and relatively low availability of homes, they are concerned about finding somewhere to live.

“They don’t want to be rushed into buying a new home, and it still remains challenging to find a short-term rental, especially if you need to remain in a certain area for work or schooling reasons.”

REIWA says there were just 1,716 properties available for rent on its website as of the end of December.

This was 23.6% lower than November and 3.9% lower than the same time in 2024.

SQM Research lists Perth’s rental vacancy rate as just 0.7% in December.

REIWA data shows Perth houses and units sold in a median of just nine days after listing in December.

That’s seven days faster than a year ago.

REIWA President Suzanne Brown says that if homeowners are thinking of selling, they could consider a longer settlement period to give them time to find a new home.

“Or you may want to consider listing on the condition that you find a new home first,” she says.

Ms Brown says while new and active listings traditionally increase in January, the current market conditions don’t bode well for more supply.

“Due to the current constraints in the market, we may not see as much of an increase as we have in previous years,” she says.

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REIWA says Perth’s median house sale price continued its upwards trend, reaching a new record of $840,000 in December 2025.

This was a 1.2% increase on November’s figure and 12.0% higher than a year ago.

The median unit sale price also rose, lifting 1.7% over the month and 18.0% over the year to a record $590,000.

REA Group’s PropTrack, which also monitors home sales, calculates Perth house prices as rising by 16.9% in 2025 to a median of $1,034,000, with units up a stunning 19.3% to a median of $660,000.

“Houses have become less affordable and we have seen more buyers look to the unit market, which includes villas, apartments, and home units, as a more affordable entry point to property ownership,” REIWA’s Suzanne Brown says.

“This increased competition has boosted the rate of price growth.”

REIWA says the suburbs that saw the most median house sale price growth in December 2025 were Lesmurdie (up 4.3% to $1,085,000), Attadale (up 3.2% to $1,912,505), Swan View (up 3.2% to $735,000), Carlisle (up 2.9% to $890,000), and Kewdale (up 2.5% to $835,000).

Harrisdale, Mosman Park, Noranda, Hamilton Hill and South Perth were also among the top performers according to REIWA, recording monthly growth of 1.6% or more.

Meanwhile, REIWA says Perth’s median dwelling rent remained stable at $700 per week in December.

While there was no material increase from the previous month, this still means rents are a massive 7.7% higher than the same time in 2024.