Kixstart Property Brief | Perth market strategy
Perth buyers have something they have not had much of recently: choice. That does not make every property cheap. It does mean current competing stock and recent comparable sales should carry more weight before a buyer makes an offer or a seller sets a price.
REIWA recorded 7,335 properties advertised for sale at the end of August 2026. By the week ending 6 September, that figure had edged higher to 7,352 properties.
A year earlier, there were 2,905.
That does not mean Perth property has suddenly become cheap or that buyers control every negotiation. It means more properties are competing for attention, buyers can compare more alternatives, and sellers need to understand what those alternatives look like.
The useful question is no longer simply, “What is the suburb median?”
What else can a buyer purchase instead, and what have genuinely comparable properties actually sold for?
Why 7,352 listings matter
The rise in listings is partly the result of normal new-listing activity returning after an unusually tight period. REIWA says active listings have more than doubled since March as demand eased and homes took longer to sell.
The latest weekly figure is 153.1 per cent higher than the same week a year ago.
That is a meaningful change in market conditions, but it is not evidence of a crash. Strong properties can still attract multiple buyers and Perth prices remain elevated.
What has changed is the amount of evidence buyers and sellers can use before making a decision.
Buyers: build your own competing-stock list
Before making an offer, identify at least three properties a serious buyer could reasonably purchase instead.
They should be genuinely similar in suburb or immediate location, property type, bedroom and bathroom count, land size, condition, parking, renovation level and development potential.
Do not compare a renovated villa with an original detached house simply because they both have three bedrooms.
And do not treat asking prices as evidence of value. An asking price tells you what a seller hopes to achieve. A settled comparable sale tells you what another buyer actually paid.
Thornlie: buyers now have alternatives
Thornlie is a useful example. REIWA currently reports an annual median house price around $876,000, but that figure alone does not tell a buyer what an older three-bedroom home is worth.
Current three-bedroom stock includes 34 Greenway Avenue above $790,000, 94 Berehaven Avenue from $799,000, 417 Spencer Road from $780,000 and 9 Huggins Road above $829,000.
Recent settled evidence provides another reference point. 25 McNamara Drive, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home on about 680 square metres, sold for $780,000 in early September.
Those properties are not automatically interchangeable. Condition, block shape, improvements, street position and future potential matter. But the cluster gives a buyer something more useful than a suburb headline.
If another older three-bedroom Thornlie property is being presented around $830,000, the buyer can ask a simple question:
What specifically makes this property worth more than the alternatives?
If there is no convincing answer, the asking price should not become the buyer’s valuation.
Sellers: your real competition is already online
The same evidence works in reverse for a seller.
If several broadly similar properties are available in the same price band, buyers will see them. A previous strong sale does not make today’s competing stock disappear.
A seller needs to understand why their property deserves to sit at the top, middle or bottom of the current group.
- Is the block larger?
- Has the home been renovated?
- Does it have development potential?
- Is the street materially better?
- Does it offer better parking, another bathroom or a stronger layout?
If the property deserves a premium, the evidence should explain it. If it does not, weak enquiry and a longer selling period will eventually expose the difference.
Baldivis: four bedrooms is not a comparable-sale analysis
Baldivis shows why bedroom count alone is not enough.
Current four-bedroom asking stock includes 33 Liesham Crescent above $800,000, 10 Sahara Drive from $849,000 and 192 Clyde Avenue above $850,000.
Recent four-bedroom sales span a wide range. 51 Smirk Road, on about 391 square metres, sold for $730,000. 48 McDonald Road, a larger 2020-built home on about 450 square metres, sold for $842,000. 37 Pristine Loop, a 2023-built home on about 350 square metres, sold for $712,000.
Same suburb. Same broad bedroom category. Very different outcomes.
The lesson is not that one property was cheap and another expensive. The lesson is that age, floor area, lot size, location, fit-out and buyer appeal can materially change the result.
Belmont: land can change the comparison completely
Belmont demonstrates another trap.
33 Somers Street, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home on about 440 square metres, sold for $728,000 in July. Other recent three-bedroom sales include 37 Fisher Street at $820,000 and 2/8 Raleigh Street at $850,000.
Meanwhile, 58 Gardiner Street is being marketed from $999,900.
At first glance the difference looks enormous. But 58 Gardiner Street sits on about 771 square metres and is being marketed for its development potential.
That additional land and planning potential may materially change what the property is worth to a particular buyer.
This is why bedroom count and suburb median should be starting points, not conclusions.
The three numbers buyers should know before offering
1. The comparable-sale range
Use genuinely similar properties that sold recently. Avoid reaching too far backwards unless there are too few recent transactions. Perth conditions have changed quickly enough that an older sale may need adjustment.
2. The competing-stock range
What can you buy instead today? If several similar properties are available at lower asking prices, those alternatives belong in the negotiation.
3. Your walk-away price
Set it before negotiation becomes emotional. It should reflect the property, finance, repairs, renovation requirements, holding costs and available alternatives.
The goal is not to win every property. It is to avoid winning the wrong one.
Sellers need the same three numbers
Sellers should reverse the process.
Find the strongest recent comparable sales. Identify the homes buyers will see beside yours online. Then decide what evidence supports the proposed price.
A seller who ignores competing stock risks spending weeks proving that the market does not agree with the price. A seller who prices too low may leave money on the table.
The objective is to understand where the property sits in the current market and position it deliberately.
Do not confuse more listings with a crash
Perth is not currently a distressed market.
Prices remain high. Strong stock can still sell quickly. Rental availability remains tight.
What has changed is the balance between buyers and sellers.
Buyers can compare more alternatives. Sellers face more visible competition.
That means property-specific evidence matters more than market slogans.
A simple check before your next decision
Put the subject property in the middle of a page.
On one side, list three to five genuinely comparable recent sales. On the other, list three to five properties currently competing with it.
- sale or asking price;
- land size;
- bedrooms and bathrooms;
- condition;
- renovation level;
- parking;
- development potential;
- days on market where available;
- obvious advantages and disadvantages.
You will quickly see whether the proposed price is supported by evidence or mainly by expectation.
Compare the stock. Check the sales. Know your walk-away number.
Assessing a specific Perth property?
Kixstart Property can help structure the competing-stock, comparable-sale and property-feasibility questions around a property you are considering or already own. This is research and feasibility support, not a formal valuation or buyer’s-agent service.
Methodology
This brief uses REIWA market data and current and recently sold property listings checked on 8 September 2026. Individual examples demonstrate the comparison method rather than provide valuations.
Asking prices are not evidence of market value. No property should be treated as directly comparable without considering land, location, condition, title, improvements, planning potential and other material characteristics.
Principal sources
- REIWA: Perth weekly market snapshot, week ending 6 September 2026
- REIWA: Listings for sale exceed 7,000
- REIWA: Thornlie houses for sale
- REIWA: Baldivis houses for sale
- REIWA: Belmont houses for sale
- REIWA: Belmont sold houses
This article provides general property research and information only. It is not a valuation, financial, lending, legal, taxation or investment recommendation. Individual properties and circumstances differ. Obtain appropriate professional and property-specific advice before acting.