Port Hedland the only WA regional centre to record median house price decline in 2024 September quarter

Port Hedland was the only WA regional centre to record a median house sale price decline in the 2024 September quarter, according to REIWA. The median house sale price in Port Hedland is $540,000, declining 0.9 per cent in the last quarter. REIWA regional spokesperson Joe White said the decline was a result of east coast investors purchasing cheaper homes for a higher return on investment. “The cheaper stuff has been selling on the back of the demand from high rents,” he said. “The high rents are probably more of an indication of how strong the market is, and the fact that median house price has come back a bit is because the cheaper stuff has been in demand, being picked over by Eastern States investors.” The data from REIWA also revealed that Port Hedland had the second highest median weekly of rent of $973, just behind Karratha at $1000 per week. “Rents are always going to be high in the Pilbara because the two things that always drive the property market are population growth and wages growth,” Mr White said. “In the Pilbara, where the wages are basically the highest in the country, the market is going to be driven by that, it’s a robust economy.” Mr White said buyers in Port Hedland were on the lookout for cheap, small units. “With so many upcoming projects in Port Hedland and the Pilbara region in general, companies and government are looking to house workers in units,” he said. “I’m not seeing too much relief for Port Hedland with a massive supply crisis and a mixture of no labour, complex planning systems and inefficient tax systems, we are not delivering enough total housing, nor diversity of housing, nor social housing.”