Bunbury in high demand with houses selling faster and with less discount than anywhere else in nation

Houses in Bunbury now sell faster and with a smaller price discount than in any other regional area in the nation. Latest data from Core Logic found last quarter house buyers in Bunbury could only negotiate on average a 3.4 per cent discount on the asking price which was the lowest in regional Australia. The report by the property analysis firm examined the nation’s 25 largest non-capital city regions, with Bunbury being only one of seven that saw a rise in housing value. It revealed house in Bunbury take on average just 26 days, which was equalled by Toowoomba in Queensland but without the lower price discount. Corelogic Australia head of research Eliza Owen said the market in Bunbury was a double-edged sword, with those looking to buy houses getting hit the hardest. “It’s good for sellers, it’s not so good for buyers,” she said. “The Bunbury housing market is relatively cheap when you compare it to say, houses across Perth, but that also means that they’re in high demand. So, properties are selling really quickly, and vendors don’t have to budge much on their asking price in order to sell. “So if you’re expecting to be able to talk a seller down, you probably won’t be that successful at the moment.” However while Bunbury houses continue to sell well, the report found a lack of smaller accommodation sales such as units. It also identified that the number of annual dwelling sales in Bunbury was 16.4 per cent lower than one year ago but still 17.8 per cent above the five year average for the region. No region saw an increase in the volume of unit sales over the year, however, Bunbury was the least impacted region in the country, with a reduction in volume by 4.2 per cent. Ms Owen said Bunbury’s sustained growth goes all the way back to COVID-19. “So for an area like Bunbury, it’s got this really appealing price point, or at least it was especially appealing at the onset of the pandemic,” she said. “A lot of it has to do with a relatively affordable price point, and also the changes in attitudes towards more remote regional areas through the COVID period that’s been enabled through remote work.”