Investors made a comeback to WA’s housing market in 2021, as the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows a near doubling of home loan values to investors in the 12 months to November.
The latest ABS housing finance data shows $5.62 billion in home loans was allocated to WA investors in the 12 months to November 2021 – a 95 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.
In November, $0.61 billion was lent to investors in home loans in WA, the highest since August 2015 when it was $0.74 billion.
Nationally, investor lending nationally rose 3.8 per cent in November, the third consecutive month of growth and an all-time high of $10.1 billion, surpassing the previous record of $10.08 billion in April 2015.
The ABS data showed the value of home loans spiked by 6.3 per cent nationally in November, while the average size of a mortgage for owner-occupiers has hit record levels in every state except WA.
WA’s median home value sits at $528,551, compared with the national figure of $793,658.
Perth investment group Momentum Wealth general manager Jennifer Wakeman said WA’s low median house price coupled with the 22 per cent increase in home values since November 2019 made it attractive for investors.
“While these value gains are seeing many property owners benefit from an uplift in equity, Perth also remains one of Australia’s most affordable state capitals, which is placing investors in a strong position to now expand their portfolio,” she said.
She added that rising rents also drew investors to Perth, with SQM Research data showing a 15.2 per cent climb in rent values for Perth houses in the year to 2022, resulting in rental yields increases to 4.4 per cent.
CoreLogic figures show this surpasses rental yields in Brisbane (3.7 per cent), Melbourne (2.7 per cent) and Sydney (2.4 per cent).
The ABS figures showed that Australia wide, the value of home loans secured during November rose to $31.4 billion, led by investment in NSW and Victoria.
The figures represent the first increase in owner-occupier home loans since May 2021 and the largest jump since January last year, at 7.6 per cent in the month.
