After a lengthy period of bad press, optimism has begun for WA's house and land market in 2023 and beyond.

Since COVID and the significant government stimulus that followed, builders and their clients have been dealt with escalating building costs, poor availability of product and more recently labour shortages.

Investors from the eastern states are already looking to WA as an investment hot spot. As is often the case, WA has stood strong through the doom and gloom when compared to other states that often dominate the news headlines.

In addition, the Urban Development Institute of Australia's (UDIA) recent State of the Land Report officially declared Perth the most affordable capital city in Australia.

Housing Industry Association deputy executive director Phil Vaughan suggested that while we can expect the continuation of elevated home prices this year, it's unlikely to be exponential as seen in the past.

"Material costs have largely stabilised," Vaughan commented. Adding that as materials became more available, it is anticipated that completion periods for new homes would return to normal durations.

To combat labour shortages, the McGowan Government this week announced a welcome $47.6 million boost to WA's building and construction industry, that will ramp up local training and for more immediate impact, facilitate easy connection of skilled migrants to WA.

Housing Minister John Carey highlighted the impact of this by acknowledging "In a heated construction market this initiative is set to attract more workers to our state, boost the delivery of housing and complement our existing innovative social housing reform program."

Tom Hewitt, a senior economist with the Housing Industry Association, explained that "[The surge in prices] has started to slow and we expect it to continue to slow, but unfortunately, if history is any indicator, those prices probably won't go backwards."

To learn more about our take on the market and see available packages, reach out to a Stockland sales professional on 13 52 63.