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Nicole Cox via realestate.com.au

Perth’s property prices have dipped more than 10 per cent in the past three years, but a new report suggests evidence of some relief with the rate of decline abating.

The latest CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index shows house values in Perth have fallen by 2.6% so far this year, making it the worst performing capital in Australia.

In August, Perth property prices dropped 0.8%, compared to the 1.3% decline in July.

House prices suffered a 0.9% drop, while unit prices fell by 0.6%, bringing the median property price in Perth to $462,927.

In August, Perth property prices dropped 0.8%, compared to the 1.3% decline in July. Picture: Getty Images

August property data showed Perth and Darwin continued to endure declining dwelling values, which had trended lower over the past month and rolling quarter.

“However, the annual trend highlights the rate of decline has been easing,” the report says.

“Since peaking in 2014, Perth dwelling values have declined by a total of 10.8%, while the cumulative decline across Darwin has been more severe with values down 18.6% from the market peak.”

CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless says despite lagging property values in Perth, it was still one of the most affordable markets in the country.

“The silver lining around the decline in values is a substantial improvement in affordability,” Lawless says.

On Tuesday, WA Housing Minister Peter Tinley told a Committee for Economic Development Australia that lower-income earners were still being priced out of the Perth property market, despite softening values.

Tinley said Perth’s shortage of affordable housing, coupled with stagnant wage growth and the high cost of living had contributed to low-income earners being unable to realise the great Australian dream of home ownership.

CoreLogic says national dwelling values remained flat during August, with capital city values edging 0.1% higher. Simultaneously, regional dwelling values slipped 0.2% lower.

The report says the slowdown in growth has been most visible in Sydney, while the Melbourne market has been more resilient with auction rates consistently above 70%.

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July 14, 2017 6:00am

Perth’s property market could be about to turn the corner, experts say.

National Australia Bank analysis suggests WA has reached the bottom after several years of falling property prices, growing rental vacancy rates and the biggest fall in rents since the early 1990s.

NAB chief economist Alan Oster said there were clear expectations among property analysts that the WA market would improve relative to the rest of the country over the next two years.

“In WA, where the local housing market has under-performed relative to the Eastern States after the mining investment slowdown, house prices are expected to rebound and grow 1.3 per cent,” he said.

Experts surveyed by NAB believe Armadale, Bentley, central Perth and Scarborough look the best prospects in the city.

Sydney and Melbourne have seen double-digit price increases in the past two years but the NAB survey believes these two will slow down.

Victoria’s market is tipped to be the weakest within two years, with WA vying with Queensland for top spot.

The improvement in the WA market is tied to a lift in the jobs market.

The survey found employment security was the single largest impediment for buyers of existing property in WA but, with signs the jobs market has bottomed and may be improving, this is tipped to be less of a negative in the next two years.

Mark Passmore, of Passmore Real Estate in Morley, said there had been a noticeable lift at the higher end of the market, which was a sign the entire market was shifting.

He said interest was growing in sought-after suburbs where prices had dropped over recent years as confidence in the overall market and economy had improved.

“You can feel that the market is at a pivotal point,” Mr Passmore said.

He said a drop in the price of land had brought developers back into the market while more varied selling methods, such as auctions, were being used to get buyers back.