Western Australia is a state on the move. According to the latest population figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the state is the nations fastest growing as at June 2014, with a 2.2 per cent increase for the year. Although down from the previous year's 3.3 per cent, this is still an impressive rate of growth.
The housing and real estate market is never far behind when it comes to population growth. Obviously as the number of residents grows, the demand for housing increases. The response from the market in WA has been noticeable.
According to the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the number of dwellings approved and commenced have both increased across the state.
November 2014 was the highest month on record for new home approvals nationwide, and Western Australia's 1.2 per cent increase certainly contributed to that figure.
"Residential construction was the economy's good news story during 2014, and today's figures indicate that we can look forward to another positive year for the industry," said HIA Senior Economist Shane Garrett on 8 January.
When it comes to dwellings actually commenced, the large amount of approvals in late 2013 and early last year came to fruition in the form of a burgeoning multi-unit construction sector in the September quarter of 2014.
"With New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, the four largest states, all recording their strongest quarters on record for multi-unit dwelling commencements at the same time, there is little surprise that activity reached a new record," said Mr Garrett in January 15 release.
"Furthermore, another incremental increase in detached dwelling starts sees this part of the market record the strongest quarterly result since 2010."
As real estate in Perth and other Western Australian towns becomes more desirable, it seems certain that the population in the state will continue its upward trend.
It's been noted by the Treasury in their paper entitled "Australia's Demographic Challenges" that a major factor in population increases is positive net migration movements, and it's no wonder that WA is attracting people from around the globe and the rest of the country.
With a vibrant and dynamic lifestyle, complemented by an active economy, it's hard to go wrong. According to the CommSec State of the States report for January 2015, Western Australia claimed the second strongest economic growth performance in the country. The state also came in third for housing finance commitments, giving us some clue as to where all these new houses for sale will be going.
