HOMES for sale across Perth fell to a record low of 1881 at the end of December, according to REIWA.

This was 35.5 per cent lower than November and 57.2 per cent lower than December 2024.

REIWA President Suzanne Brown said the decline was to be expected, but the seasonal drop was compounded by ongoing strong demand and an extended period of lower-than-usual new listings.

“Historically, active listings decrease in December,” she said.

“At this time of year, the number of new listings slows (as) people are busy with the festive season, or go away, and put their plans to sell on hold and active listings decline as a result.

“However, new listings have been significantly below long-term averages in the last six months.

“New listings in winter were 11.5 per cent below the 10-year average, with new listings in spring 15 per cent below the 10-year average.

Ms Brown said comparatively, demand remained extremely high and FOMO returned to the market as members reported strong competition for homes, offers well over the asking price in many cases, and homes selling in record timeframes.

“The significant imbalance between demand and supply saw active listings fall dramatically in December,” she said.

“People want to sell, but with the speed of sales and relatively low availability of homes, they are concerned about finding somewhere to live.

“They don’t want to be rushed into buying a new home, and it still remains challenging to find a short-term rental, especially if you need to remain in a certain area for work or schooling reasons.”

Ms Brown said new and active listings traditionally increased in January.

“However, due to the current constraints in the market, we may not see as much of an increase as we have in previous years,” she said.

Perth’s median house sale price continued to grow and reached a peak in December.

According to REIWA data, the suburbs that saw the most median house sale price growth in December included Lesmurdie and Swan View.

Lesmurdie was up 4.3 per cent to $1,085,000 and Swan View was up 3.2 per cent to $735,000.