Property experts warn Perth’s housing crisis to become a ‘catastrophe’ when WA border drops

Perth property experts believe the city’s housing market is on a knife edge and when ‘Fortress WA’ reopens on March 3, an influx of tens of thousands of residents will be like a “torpedo heading for a submarine”.

Industry insiders predict anywhere from 20,000-80,000 interstate and overseas migrants will be fighting over only 10,000 properties in the months after reopening, and the current housing crisis will become a housing “catastrophe” with price rises that tip the market into a boom-bust cycle.

State government projections released in December predicted WA’s population would grow by one per cent in 2022-23 (26,800 people), 1.3 per cent in 2023-24 (34,840 people) and 1.4 per cent in 2024-25 (37,520 people). These had all been freshly revised up from previous projections.

CoreLogic’s latest statistics show currently fewer than 8000 properties to buy in Perth and 2000 properties to rent.

Ryan Thompson is director of a company that coaches real estate agents and runs another company specialising in auctions. He said Perth was already struggling with demand.

“I am told there has been permission given to 30,000 people to return or come to Perth from March and there are another 50,000 awaiting approval,” Mr Thompson said.

The Perth market also had more interstate buyers than ever before with many buying sight unseen while they awaited the reopening.

“I’ve been in real estate for 20 years and I’ve never seen a situation like this before,” he said. “It’s a torpedo heading for a submarine and it will explode.