Perth Property Market Update 2026: Medians, Growth and What It Means for Buyers
Perth's property market has kept moving in 2026, and the numbers look different depending on which part of the city you're watching. House medians have climbed sharply across most corridors, a handful of outer suburbs still sit within reach of the federal scheme price caps, and the gap between inner and outer Perth has widened again. Whether you're stretching to your first purchase, upgrading with equity behind you, or buying an investment you'll never live in, where you're looking shapes almost every part of your borrowing position.
REIWA data for the twelve months to August 2026 shows growth running at double digits across most of the approved suburb list, with a few standout performers in the mid-ring and outer corridors. The picture is uneven enough that the same buyer can be comfortably within reach in one suburb and priced out of the next one along.
Our team helps buyers across Perth, WA work through what the current medians actually mean for their deposit and borrowing position, comparing across 60+ lenders to find the right structure. The home loan side of the equation is where most of the difference is made once you know which suburbs are in range.
Key takeaways
- Perth house medians range from $700,000 in Armadale to $3.575m in Cottesloe.
- Eleven suburbs have house medians at or under the $850,000 federal scheme cap.
- Most Perth unit medians still sit below the cap, keeping units within reach for many buyers.
What is happening to Perth property prices right now?
Perth house prices have continued rising through 2026 across most corridors, with the strongest growth landing in mid-ring and outer suburbs where the entry point is lower and buyer demand has concentrated. REIWA data for the twelve months to August 2026 shows Rivervale up 27.7%, Cannington up 26.2% and Dianella up 24.1%, all in areas where houses were still affordable relative to the inner ring two years ago. The inner-ring and premium suburbs have grown more slowly in percentage terms, though their medians are already well above the scheme caps.
The range across the approved suburb set tells the story clearly. House medians run from $700,000 in Armadale at the southern end to $3,575,000 in Cottesloe on the coast. That is not a gap that narrows quickly. The mid-ring sits between roughly $850,000 and $1.5m, and only eleven suburbs have a house median at or under the $850,000 federal price cap that governs the First Home Guarantee, the Family Home Guarantee and Help to Buy.
Source: REIWA (Landgate data, August 2026).
Which Perth suburbs have grown fastest over the last twelve months?
The fastest-growing suburbs in the twelve months to August 2026, measured by house price growth, are concentrated in the inner-south, the eastern corridor and the mid-ring north. Rivervale led the approved suburb set at 27.7%, followed by Cannington at 26.2% and Dianella at 24.1%. Mount Lawley grew 23.3%, Harrisdale 23.7%, Belmont 23.0% and Thornlie 23.2%. Growth at that pace on a suburb already sitting at $900,000 or more adds a material amount to the deposit requirement in a single year.
The outer northern corridor has also moved. Butler, Alkimos and Yanchep have all posted growth between 17% and 21% on medians that remain close to or at the $850,000 cap. These are the suburbs where a buyer who acted twelve months ago is now sitting on meaningful equity, and where a buyer acting now can still access federal schemes on a house purchase.
Applecross is the notable exception, with house price growth of negative 3.5% over the same period on a median of $2,750,000. That is the only suburb in the set running in reverse on a twelve-month view.
What we see most often is buyers looking at a suburb's growth rate in isolation and drawing the wrong conclusion from it. A suburb that grew 25% this year on a $750,000 median tells you something very different from one that grew the same amount on a $2 million median. The deposit and borrowing implications are completely different, and that's the conversation worth having first.
Joe Del Borrello · Director, Launch Finance · Chat to the Launch team →
Where in Perth, WA do scheme-eligible suburbs still exist for house buyers?
The $850,000 price cap under the First Home Guarantee, the Family Home Guarantee and Help to Buy applies to all of Greater Perth. At current medians, only eleven approved suburbs have a house median at or under that cap. They are Armadale ($700,000), Midland ($710,000), Gosnells ($760,000), Maddington ($767,550), Cannington ($800,000), Butler ($840,000), Baldivis ($843,500) and, sitting exactly at the cap, Yanchep, Ellenbrook, Bentley and Byford (all at $850,000). Buyers seeking a house within the cap have a meaningful but concentrated set of options, mostly in the southern and northern outer corridors and the eastern growth area.
The unit market tells a different story. Thirty-one of the forty-three approved suburbs with a published unit median sit below the $850,000 cap. Unit buyers have considerably more of the market available to them under the scheme structure, including established inner and mid-ring suburbs that are well out of reach for a house purchase under the cap. Victoria Park ($600,000), Morley ($680,000), Fremantle ($777,500) and Scarborough ($846,500) are all below the threshold on units.
The federal scheme options most relevant to the current market:
- › First Home Guarantee: 5% deposit, no LMI, no income test. Perth cap $850,000. Covers most of the unit market and eleven house suburbs.
- › Family Home Guarantee: 2% deposit, no LMI. Single parents, no first home buyer requirement. Same $850,000 Perth cap.
- › Help to Buy: federal shared-equity, up to 40% government stake on new homes. Income caps $103,000 single, $165,000 joint and single parent. Perth cap $850,000. Cannot be combined with the Keystart Urban Connect Shared Equity scheme.
- › Keystart Urban Connect Shared Equity: WA Government scheme delivered by Keystart. New apartments, townhouses, villas and units to $800,000. Minimum 2%, up to 35% government equity. Confirm places remain in the 1,000-loan allocation before applying.
- › WA First Home Owner Grant:$10,000 for new homes only. Cap $800,000 in Perth. Separate from the duty concession and can be stacked with the Guarantee.
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What do these medians mean for your deposit and borrowing position?
The deposit requirement shifts sharply depending on which part of the market you're targeting. At 10% deposit on a $850,000 purchase, you need $85,000 plus costs. At 20% on the same purchase, you need $170,000. Move to the mid-ring at $1.2m and a 20% deposit becomes $240,000. These are the numbers that make the gap between outer corridor and established suburb a multi-year savings difference for most buyers.
Lenders add the APRA serviceability buffer of 3.0 percentage points on top of the actual loan rate when assessing what you can borrow. That means the rate you're assessed on is meaningfully higher than the rate you'll pay, and the difference shows up in how much each lender will approve. Two buyers with identical incomes and deposits can receive different maximum loan amounts from different lenders, because lender policy varies on how income is counted, what liabilities are included, and which living expense benchmarks apply.
The LVR bands matter too. Borrowing above 80% LVR without a government guarantee means paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which on a $850,000 purchase at 95% LVR costs approximately $27,000. On a $700,000 purchase at 95%, it's approximately $21,000. Those figures can be added to the loan or paid upfront, but either way they reduce the effective amount available for the purchase. The federal scheme structure removes that cost entirely for eligible buyers in eligible suburbs, which is why the cap boundary matters so much at the current median levels.
Source: REIWA (Landgate data, August 2026) and APRA.
Which market segments are still accessible for buyers at different budgets in Perth, WA?
The market splits into reasonably clear tiers once you map the current medians against the scheme caps and the deposit requirements. Buyers with a 5% to 10% deposit and a budget at or under $850,000 are looking almost exclusively at units across most of Perth, or houses in the outer southern, eastern and northern corridors. That's not a narrow market, but it does require accepting a longer commute or a smaller dwelling than the same budget would have bought two years ago.
Buyers with a 20% deposit and a $1.2m to $1.5m budget have access to most of the mid-ring, including Morley, Victoria Park and Bayswater, where house medians are running between $967,000 and $1.2m on strong growth. The inner ring and coastal suburbs require substantially larger equity positions or a combined income that supports borrowing well above the median purchase price.
For investors, the negative gearing landscape changes from 1 July 2027. The restriction applies to established residential property purchased after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026, and quarantines net rental losses so they can no longer be offset against salary or other income from that date. New builds remain fully exempt. Property under contract at Budget night is grandfathered. This is law, not a proposal, and it's relevant to how investor demand distributes across the market going forward. The CGT discount structure also changes from 1 July 2027 for the same cohort, replacing the 50% discount with indexation plus a 30% minimum tax on the real gain. Both are legislated; neither takes effect before that date.
If I were buying for the first time right now at a typical income, I'd be looking very hard at the outer northern corridor and the unit market in the mid-ring before assuming I'd missed the window. The scheme caps and the Keystart eligibility limits still cover meaningful parts of the market, and a broker conversation before you start inspecting properties changes which properties are worth inspecting.
Joe Del Borrello · Director, Launch Finance · Chat to the Launch team →
How does a mortgage broker help buyers navigate the Perth market in 2026?
The lender choice decides more of the outcome than most buyers realise. Three things differ between lenders in the current market in ways that directly affect what you can buy.
- › Scheme allocation and timing: not every lender participates in every scheme, and some exhaust their quarterly allocations early. A broker working across a wide panel knows which lenders currently have places available.
- › Income assessment policy: how a lender counts variable income, investment rent, or a second job varies, and the difference between a conservative and a more generous income assessment can move the maximum loan by tens of thousands on the same application.
- › Valuation risk at current prices: in a rising market, a lender's valuation can come in below the contract price. Some lenders have more conservative valuation approaches than others, which matters most on properties where the contract price is stretching toward the top of comparable sales.
Comparing across the panel before you apply, rather than after a decline sits on your credit file, is where the process difference is made.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current median house price in Perth for 2026?
Perth house medians vary widely by suburb. REIWA data for the twelve months to August 2026 shows a range from $700,000 in Armadale to $3,575,000 in Cottesloe across the approved suburb set, with most mid-ring suburbs sitting between $900,000 and $1.5m.
Which Perth suburbs are still under the $850,000 federal scheme cap for houses?
Eleven suburbs have house medians at or under the $850,000 cap as of August 2026: Armadale, Midland, Gosnells, Maddington, Cannington, Butler, Baldivis, and exactly at the cap, Yanchep, Ellenbrook, Bentley and Byford. Most unit markets across Perth also sit below it.
Is the Perth property market still growing in 2026?
Yes, across most of the approved suburb set. REIWA data shows twelve-month house price growth running between 17% and 27% in most corridors, with the strongest results in the mid-ring and outer eastern suburbs. Applecross was the only suburb in negative territory at negative 3.5%.
Does the negative gearing change affect Perth property buyers now?
Not yet. The restriction on offsetting net rental losses from established residential property against other income starts 1 July 2027, and applies only to property purchased after Budget night, 12 May 2026. Property contracted before that date is grandfathered, and new builds remain fully exempt.
Can I still use the First Home Guarantee to buy in Perth?
Yes, for properties at or under $850,000. At current medians that means most of the unit market across Perth, and houses in the outer corridors. A broker can confirm whether your specific property and postcode qualify before you make an offer.
Should I use a mortgage broker or go directly to my bank for a Perth property purchase?
A mortgage broker, every time. Your bank can only offer its own products; a broker compares across a wide panel of lenders and knows which ones have scheme allocations available, which assess your income more generously, and which carry valuation risk in a rising market.
Your Next Steps
Understanding where the Perth market sits in 2026 is useful. Understanding where your borrowing position sits within it is what makes the difference between the right property and the wrong loan structure. The suburb medians and scheme caps described here are the starting point, not the answer, and they shift enough between lenders that the same buyer in the same suburb can get a very different result depending on which lender they approach and when.
If buying in Perth's current market is on your horizon, the next step is simple. Get in touch with the Launch Finance team or call 08 9367 4222. We'll work through where you stand across our 60+ lender panel.
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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.
