The week's property round up

Agents and owners will no longer be able to ask or encourage tenants to pay more than the advertised price of a home, under new reforms which came into effect last week.

Properties must be advertised at a fixed price, and not using a price range or "from" price guide.

Breaches of the new laws could incur a $10,000 fine.

But as often happens in WA's tightly contested rental market, tenants are still permitted to offer to pay more - a practice that is not considered rent bidding.

The reforms also include provisions giving tenants the right to seek a remedy or compensation from a court if they believe a landlord has retaliated against them or moved to evict them after exercising this right.

Such actions include some breach notices, a rent increase, or terminating or refusing to renew a lease.

Rental conditions ease in April

Perth and Canberra saw the largest increase in rental vacancies in April, putting Perth's vacancy rate above 1 per cent for the first time since July 2022.

PropTrack's latest Market Insight report said Australian renters were finally getting some relief as vacant rentals increased across the nation, but the cost of weekly rent will edge higher.

In WA it remains a tough situation - the number of vacant rentals available in the State is less than half the number in March 2020.

"While vacancy eased in April, conditions remain incredibly tough for renters, with just 1.21pc of

rental properties sitting vacant over the month,'' PropTrack said.

"This is less than half the level considered a healthy vacancy rate.

"With vacant properties scarce, homes that do come up for rent are continuing to see high levels of competition, which is driving rent prices higher."

The situation for renters is similar across capital city and regional areas, with each seeing vacancies at 1.2pc in April.

"Compared to 12 months ago, regional areas have seen the greatest deterioration in rental conditions, with vacancy down 0.25 percentage points compared to a 0.15 percentage point drop in the cities."

Selling activity picks up

Selling activity improved across Australia in April - to be 32pc higher year-on-year - though mostly because Easter shifted a month earlier to March this year and April 2023 was particularly weak.

Across the country, capital city listings were up 40pc compared to April last year, with the regional markets almost 20pc up year-on-year.

The data in the latest PropTrack listings report showed that following a pullback in new listings in March due to Easter, there was a strong lift in new listings in April, indicating ongoing vendor confidence.

"Although home prices have remained buoyant in early 2024, the surge in new listings has seen the total number of properties advertised for sale mount, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra,'' PropTrack said.

"Despite the increase in properties available for sale, other indicators signal buyer demand remains strong, such as median time on market declining and overall enquiries rising compared to a year ago."

"As we move into the typically quieter winter period for new listings, it will be interesting to observe conditions over the coming months.

"Many people were looking for interest rate cuts to occur later this year, which buoyed buyer and seller confidence.

"Although rate cut expectations have pushed into 2025, rates remain stable and at historically moderate levels."

Unlocking industrial land

The Strategic Industries Fund will invest $500m to deliver common-user and other infrastructure at key industrial areas around the State, as part of a new Budget commitment announced last week.

WA has 13 strategic industrial areas, including Oakajee in the Mid West, Kemerton and Shotts in the South West and Mirambeena in the Great Southern, which are experiencing significant investor interest for renewable hydrogen, critical minerals processing and other job-creating industries.

From the new funding, $20m will be allocated to develop general industrial land in Karratha and in the Peel region, while $20m has been set aside to unlock land in the Goldfields and South West.