WA's booming regional centres - and the mining town digging a hole
House prices are rising and properties are selling quicker than ever as rents increase all over regional Western Australia, but one major mining centre is slipping backwards after a huge boom period.
Western Australia’s significant rent price growth, relatively low house prices and the potential for strong yields have caught the eye of investors in recent years.
While a lot of interest has focused on Perth, Western Australia’s regional areas have also attracted attention.
This month, REIWA has looked at the performance of the major regional centres over the past year.
Median house sale price growth
Over the past year Geraldton was the top performing regional centre for price growth, with its median house price rising 26.8 per cent to $520,000.
Looking back over the longer term, Port Hedland has experienced dramatic growth, with a 125.1 per cent increase in its median house price over five years. It was, however, the only regional centre to record a decline in the past year.
Median selling days
Houses are selling very quickly in all regions, with the exception of Port Hedland.
Esperance recorded the shortest time on market with a median of 11 days, followed by Albany with 12 days. Most regions have seen days on market decrease significantly over the past five years.
Median weekly rent
Regional rents have increased strongly over the past five years, with many regional centres coming off low bases following WA’s extended property market downturn. Broome, Port Hedland and Karratha have recorded the strongest growth
In addition to population growth, in many regional centres, demand from corporates and government departments seeking to house staff has boosted competition for private rental properties and helped drive price growth.
Karratha was the top performer in the year to June 2025, with its median rent increasing 30.0 per cent to $1,300 per week.
Houses are leasing in around two to three weeks in most regional centres, with Port Hedland the exception.
Esperance and Karratha recorded the fastest median leasing time at 15 days.
Rental yields
Rental yields increased in four regional centres over the past 12 months. Karratha currently offers the strongest yield at 10.7 per cent, followed by Port Hedland, Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Broome.
WA’s regions are currently seeing a lot of infrastructure investment from large corporations and the state government.
This is likely to continue to drive employment opportunities and population growth, which will support ongoing demand for rental properties.
The WA State Government is, however, increasing its investment in its Government Regional Officer Housing Program (GROH), under which the Department of Housing and Works assists in the government’s goal of retaining and housing essential workers, such as teachers, health workers and police. This could slightly soften demand in the private rental market in the longer term.
Investors, particularly Eastern States investors, should research each regional market carefully and make their decisions based on their personal situations and long-term goals.
I also remind investors that conditions will vary within the regional centres, and if you are looking to invest you should speak to a local REIWA member for insights into the best performing suburbs, vacancy rates and tenant demand.
