Figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) showed a solid increase in housing sales in Perth as its median house price this quarter settled at $535,000 – the same figure recorded for December 2015 to February 2016.

"We did see the median house price ease back slightly from the three months to December 2015, but this isn't unusual as there is typically some volatility during the festive season that can skew data," said REIWA president Hayden Groves. "Pleasingly, since Christmas and New Year period, there has been more balance and stability in the market with the median house price evening out and sales activity increasing 15 per cent on the December 2015 quarter."

Though there was a general lift in sales throughout the entire city, the Northwest and Southwest sub-regions saw the biggest increases at 23 per cent. Baldivis, Ellenbrook, Canning Vale, and Morley recorded the highest volume of reported sales for March.

Listings also rose this quarter by seven per cent compared to December, although Groves is not expecting more properties to flood the market. He added that the rental market is benefitting from overseas migration as there is a slight drop in this quarter's vacancy rate.

"Perth's vacancy rate has also improved, coming down to 5.9 per cent in the three months to March from six per cent in the three months to January," Groves said.

Median rent for houses and units remain at $400 and $380 per week, respectively, for the first three months of 2016.

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