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Perth land prices slip but still top

Pressure is coming off Perth's residential land.

Some pressure is finally coming out of Perth's residential land market but the city remains the most expensive capital in the nation.

Figures compiled by the Housing Industry Association showed residential land fell in price by $19/sqm in the three months to the end of September.

Despite the fall, Perth property is still selling at an average of $646/sqm, a near threefold increase over the past decade.

The median-sized block of land in Perth increased 4.1 per cent over the quarter to reach a record high $277,000.

A sharp increase in the size of median blocks, however, pushed down the per square metre cost of land.

At $646, Perth still easily out-ranks Sydney ($582/sqm) as the priciest place in the country to buy land for a home.

The fall in Perth's price came as the total number of land sales in Perth fell to 2000 through the quarter, the lowest since late 2011.

They are down almost 45 per cent from their most recent peak in early 2013.

RP Data research director Tim Lawless said the lift in land prices, despite the fall in total sales, was a concern given strong numbers of dwelling approvals and construction activity.

"The vacant land which is being sold is selling for an increasingly expensive price," he said.

"Remember that it is the high cost of vacant land which significantly contributes to the increasing cost of housing.

"Ideally we should be seeing more land brought to the market and sold during this period of low borrowing costs," Mr Lawless said. "This would help to curtail the increases in the cost of this vacant land."

The Kimberley remains the most expensive regional market in WA for land, with a median lot price of $196,500.

Over the past year, Kimberley land prices have collapsed by more than $60,000.

At the square metre rate, they have fallen to $324 from $418, a 22 per cent fall.

Prices across the south-eastern parts of the State, however, have climbed 31 per cent to $262/sqm.