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Homes on the market for longer

Perth homes are spending an average 68 days on the market, while the median house price has remained steady at about $550,000, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA.

While data for the March quarter revealed homes were taking 11 days longer to sell, some suburbs bucked the trend.

Buyers snapped up homes in Medina after 28 days on the market, followed by Palmyra at 31 days and Coolbellup at 32 days.

"Medina and Coolbellup are found at the more affordable end of the market, so with interest rates at historic lows and a high number of listings pushing up the competition, I suspect many people are snapping up homes in these areas quickly, safe in the knowledge that now is as good as it gets," REIWA president David Airey said yesterday.

Mr Airey said that though Landgate data had shown a fall in the median house price of 2.7 per cent to $535,000 in the March quarter, he believed the "early figure" would lift to about $550,000 with late settlements.

"Turnover is down but price is steady," he said.

"I believe 2015 will be a generally softer year than 2014, both for sales and rentals."

The preliminary March figures also showed listings were up 14 per cent, with 13,676 homes listed for sale.

Property valuer Gavin Hegney said a fall in median house price was foreseeable as a consequence of an increase in properties for sale and a drop in sales of about 15 per cent on the year.

"There is no urgency to buy at the moment," he said.

"People feel they are not missing out and choosing to wait and save a bigger deposit."

LJ Hooker regional manager Ken Preston said the state of the market was fickle.

"One moment we'll observe properties moving quickly, then there'll be a dearth of buyers," he said.