Perth’s rental market continues to be far from settled, with figures from the June quarter showing large discrepancies in performance across Western Australia’s capital city.

The figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) show the three-month period saw a decline in rental rates and the number of properties leased, while the time taken for a property to find a tenant increased.

According to REIWA’s figures, the number of properties leased in Perth over the quarter declined 5.2% compared to the previous three-month period, with the city’s Central sub-region the worst hit with an 8.5% decline.

While the quarter was not a strong one overall for Perth in terms of leasing, REIWA president Hayden Groves said on the positive there were pockets of the city that did improve.

“There was a notable lift in activity in the North East sub-region, and we also saw signs of strength in the South West sub-region with activity lifting 0.2%,” Groves said. 

The North East sub-region’s 4.7% increase in leasings was largest seen across the across the city in the quarter.

In terms of rental rates, the June quarter saw Perth’s overall weekly median rent drop $15 to $380, though Groves again said there were areas of the city that at least held their ground over the quarter.

“As with leasing activity, the North East and South East sub-region’s median rent price held steady over the quarter with no change,” Groves said. 

“Thirty per cent of the 124 suburbs in the Central sub-region experienced either an increase in their median rent prices or had stable rents.”

June quarter best performing suburbs by sub-region. Source: REIWA

Over the quarter, the average time taken for a property to rent in Perth increased by a day compared to the March quarter, which Groves said wasn’t overly surprising.

“Average leasing days for the three months to June sits at 50 days, which isn’t surprising given that the volume of rental properties available for lease on the market pushed past 11,000 in the three months to June,” he said.