Is Now A Good Time To Buy in Perth, WA? A Local Broker's Guide
If you've been watching Perth property prices climb and wondering whether you've already missed the window, you're not alone. That question lands in our inbox most weeks, and the honest answer is that "is now a good time to buy?" is almost always the wrong question. The right one is whether it's the right time for you , given your deposit, your income, your borrowing capacity and what you're buying.
Perth has had a strong run. REIWA data shows house medians across the approved suburb list running from $700,000 in Armadale to $3,575,000 in Cottesloe, with 12-month growth figures between roughly 9% and 28% across the region. Whether you're stretching to your first purchase, upgrading with equity behind you, or buying an investment you'll never live in, the market looks different depending on where you sit.
Our team at Launch Finance helps buyers across Perth, WA work through exactly this call, comparing options across 60+ lenders. The home loan structure and timing decision are where most of the difference is made.
Key takeaways
- Perth house medians range from $700,000 to over $3.5M across the region.
- The right time to buy depends on your position, not the market cycle.
- Eleven suburbs have house medians at or under the $850,000 scheme cap.
Is now actually a good time to buy property in Perth, WA?
For most buyers, yes - but not because the market is cheap. It's because waiting for a dip in a rising market has a cost too, and that cost is often underestimated. The buyers who've done well in Perth over the last few years weren't necessarily good at picking the market. They were ready when the conditions suited them.
What does the Perth property market actually look like right now?
REIWA data for the 12 months to August 2026 shows strong growth across most of Perth's approved suburb set. Armadale sits at a $700,000 median house price, Midland at $710,000, and suburbs like Gosnells, Maddington and Cannington are all under $810,000 - making them accessible for buyers working within scheme caps. At the other end, Cottesloe has reached $3,575,000, Nedlands $2,790,000 and South Perth $2,400,000.
Growth rates over the same period tell a similar story. Rivervale posted 27.7% house price growth, Cannington 26.2%, Dianella 24.1% and Harrisdale 23.7%. Even the more established suburbs have moved - Mount Lawley up 23.3%, Scarborough 21.2%. The one notable exception is Applecross, where the house median dipped 3.5% over the period.
Unit markets have generally moved less dramatically, and in many suburbs the unit median still sits under the $850,000 cap that applies to the First Home Guarantee, Help to Buy and related federal schemes. Victoria Park units sit at $600,000, Bayswater at $615,000, Joondalup at $640,000 and Belmont at $596,000.
Source: REIWA (Landgate data, August 2026).
"The buyers I see struggle most aren't the ones who bought at the wrong time. They're the ones who spent two years waiting for conditions that never arrived, and bought the same suburb at a higher price anyway. The question is never just what the market is doing - it's what your borrowing position looks like right now."
Joe Del Borrello · Director, Launch Finance · Chat to the Launch team →
What government schemes are available to Perth buyers right now?
Several schemes reduce the deposit hurdle for eligible buyers. Eligibility runs on your income and the property price - not on market timing.
The schemes worth knowing:
- › First Home Guarantee (5% Deposit Scheme): 5% deposit, no LMI, no income test. Perth cap $850,000 - covers most units and outer-suburban houses.
- › Family Home Guarantee: single parents, 2% deposit, no first-home-buyer requirement. Perth cap $850,000.
- › Help to Buy: federal shared equity, up to 40% government stake in a new home. Income caps $103,000 single / $165,000 joint. Perth cap $850,000. Cannot be combined with a state shared-equity scheme.
- › Keystart Urban Connect Shared Equity: WA Government scheme, 2% deposit, up to 35% equity share, $800,000 cap. New apartments, townhouses, villas and small-lot new builds only. Confirm remaining places in the 1,000-loan allocation before applying.
- › WA First Home Owner Grant:$10,000 for new homes only, $800,000 cap in Perth. Does not apply to established homes.
The most important thing to understand about these schemes is that they remove the LMI cost and reduce the deposit requirement - they don't change what a lender will assess you at. Your income, your debts and your expenses still drive the borrowing capacity number.
Source: Housing Australia and RevenueWA.
What does Perth's market mean for your deposit and borrowing capacity?
The $850,000 cap on the First Home Guarantee and Help to Buy is the figure that matters most for first buyers. Across Perth's approved suburbs, only eleven have a house median at or under that cap: Armadale, Midland, Gosnells, Maddington, Cannington, Butler, Baldivis, and exactly at the cap - Yanchep, Ellenbrook, Bentley and Byford. Most of the inner and middle-ring house market sits well above it.
That doesn't mean the schemes are useless in Perth - it means they work best for units and for the outer growth suburbs. In 31 of the 43 suburbs with a published unit median, the figure sits under the $850,000 threshold. Buyers who are flexible on property type or location get more from these schemes than buyers who have a fixed suburb in mind.
On borrowing capacity, the APRA serviceability buffer adds 3.0 percentage points to the actual loan rate when lenders assess your application. That's the same whichever lender you use, but the base rate they apply it to differs - which is one reason two lenders can give the same borrower very different numbers. Whether you're looking in Butler, Ellenbrook or Victoria Park, the lender that will approve you is often not the one with the lowest advertised rate.
Source: APRA and Housing Australia.
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When does buying now not make sense?
If your deposit is at the absolute minimum and your borrowing is already stretched, buying into a rising market with no buffer is a risk regardless of the cycle. A valuation that comes in under the contract price, an unexpected rate move, or a change in your income can each put you in a difficult position if there's nothing in reserve.
Buying now also doesn't make sense if you're planning to sell within two or three years. Transaction costs - stamp duty, settlement fees, agent commissions on the way out - are significant, and a short holding period leaves little room for those to be absorbed by capital growth. The buyers who should be patient aren't the ones who think prices might dip. They're the ones whose cashflow or savings buffer isn't yet in a position to absorb a surprise.
For investors, it's worth noting that the negative gearing rules change from 1 July 2027. Property purchased after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 will not be able to offset net rental losses against salary income from that date - though new builds remain exempt. That's not a reason to rush or to hold off, but it's a detail worth understanding before you structure an investment purchase.
Source: Australian Taxation Office.
How do you buy in Perth, WA when you're ready, step by step?
Step 1: Talk to us
We start by working out where your borrowing capacity actually sits - across multiple lenders, not one - and what that means for the suburbs and property types you're considering.
Step 2: Clarify your position and schemes
We review your income, deposit, debts and expenses, confirm which schemes you're eligible for, and give you a clear picture of what you can realistically offer on a property.
Step 3: Match to the right lenders and apply
We identify the lenders whose policies suit your situation, prepare your application, and submit it - handling the follow-up so the process doesn't stall on paperwork.
Step 4: Support you through to settlement
We stay across valuations, conditions and timelines, and manage anything that comes up between approval and settlement so nothing falls through at the last moment.
"When someone asks me if now is a good time to buy, I usually turn it back to them: do you know what you can borrow, and have you confirmed it across more than one lender? Most people haven't, and that conversation changes the question entirely. In a market moving at this pace, knowing your number precisely is worth more than any market-timing call."
Joe Del Borrello · Director, Launch Finance · Chat to the Launch team →
What mistakes do buyers make when trying to time the Perth market?
The most common timing errors:
- › Waiting for a correction that may not come: Perth's market has posted strong growth across most suburbs for consecutive years. A buyer who waits for a dip risks buying the same property later at a higher price with a larger deposit requirement.
- › Getting one borrowing estimate and stopping there: Lenders apply the same APRA buffer but at different base rates, with different policies on overtime, casual income and existing debts. The spread between what lenders will offer the same borrower can be significant - comparing is not optional.
- › Fixating on a suburb above the scheme cap: A buyer eligible for the First Home Guarantee who insists on a house in an inner suburb with a $1.5M median has ruled out the scheme's main benefit. Flexibility on property type - unit rather than house - often opens those same suburbs within the $850,000 cap.
- › Applying to multiple lenders directly: Each application creates a credit enquiry that sits on your file for five years. Multiple enquiries in a short window can affect how lenders assess your next application. A broker submits once, to the right lender, with the paperwork already in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Perth house prices still rising in 2026?
Yes, across most suburbs. REIWA data for the 12 months to August 2026 shows growth ranging from around 9% to 28% depending on the suburb, with most of the approved suburb set posting positive annual figures. Applecross is the notable exception at -3.5%.
Which Perth suburbs have house medians under $850,000?
Eleven approved suburbs sit at or under the $850,000 cap: Armadale, Midland, Gosnells, Maddington, Cannington, Butler and Baldivis are below it, with Yanchep, Ellenbrook, Bentley and Byford sitting exactly at the cap.
Can I use the First Home Guarantee to buy in Perth right now?
Yes, if the purchase price is at or under $850,000. Most Perth houses exceed that in the inner and middle suburbs, but units in many areas - and houses in the outer growth corridors - still sit within the cap.
Does negative gearing still apply if I buy an investment property in Perth now?
For established properties purchased after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026, negative gearing will be restricted from 1 July 2027. New builds remain fully exempt. Properties held before that date are fully grandfathered.
Should I wait for interest rates to fall before buying?
That's a market-timing call no broker can make for you. What's worth knowing is that your borrowing capacity is assessed at the actual rate plus the 3.0% APRA buffer - so a rate cut improves your position, but it also tends to increase competition and prices at the same time.
Is a mortgage broker or a bank better for buying in Perth right now?
A mortgage broker, every time. A bank can only offer its own products at its own assessment criteria. A broker compares across a wide lender panel and finds the one whose policies suit your specific income type, deposit and property choice - which is especially important in a fast-moving market.
Your Next Steps
Deciding whether now is the right time to buy in Perth isn't a market question - it's a personal finance question. The buyers who end up in the best position are the ones who knew their borrowing capacity precisely, understood which schemes they qualified for, and moved when their own situation was ready, not when a headline said to.
As mortgage brokers in Perth, we see this question come up most weeks. Ready to work out where you actually stand? Get in touch with the Launch Finance team or call 08 9367 4222. We'll work through your position across our 60+ lender panel and give you a clear answer.
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External Resources
Launch Finance · Perth, WA · Launch Finance Pty Ltd (ABN 17 163 528 701), Corporate Credit Representative 454041 of BLSSA Pty Ltd (ABN 69 117 651 760), Australian Credit Licence 391237 · General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.
