Perth's rental market holds its momentum
Cotality released its latest Quarterly Rental Review this July, and for Perth owners and investors it makes encouraging reading. Rents are still climbing faster than the national average, Perth has become the second most expensive capital city to rent in, and vacancies remain among the tightest in the country.
A quick word before the figures: this is a reading of someone else's research, not a forecast of our own. I've kept to what Cotality actually reported, and pointed you to the source at the end if you'd like to look deeper.
Rents still rising ahead of the national pace
Across the country, the median dwelling rent reached $705 a week in June, up 5.9% over the year. Perth sat well above that: a median of $784 a week, having risen 2.3% in the June quarter and 7.8% over the year - among the strongest annual growth of any capital, behind only Darwin and Hobart.
That growth has shifted Perth's standing. It is now the second most expensive capital city to rent in, behind Sydney ($841) and ahead of Brisbane ($734), with the gap to Sydney narrowing as Perth rents rise more quickly.
A tight market underpinning the growth
The engine behind those rises is a shortage of available rentals. Perth's vacancy rate was 1.3% in June - below the national figure of 1.6%, and among the lowest of the capital cities. Nationally, the number of rental listings remains well below its five-year average.
For an owner, that tightness is the practical good news: well-presented properties are leasing quickly, and the balance between supply and demand continues to support rents. Houses led the way at a median of $798 a week, up 7.9% over the year, with units at $716, up 7.6%.
What the yields are telling us
Perth's gross rental yield eased over the year, from 4.3% to 3.7% for dwellings. On its own that might read as a negative - but it's worth understanding why. Yields fall when property values rise faster than rents, and that is the pattern Cotality describes. The easing reflects strong capital growth sitting alongside rising rents, rather than any weakness in the rental market itself.
It's also worth noting that units continue to offer a higher income return than houses - a 4.7% yield against 3.6% - a point of interest for investors weighing where the return sits.
Across the northern suburbs
The headline figures play out differently street to street. Along Perth's northern coast, several suburbs posted strong quarterly growth in June - Burns Beach, at a median house rent of $1,319, rose 5.0% for the quarter; Iluka, at $1,303, rose 5.1%; and Hillarys, at $1,119, is up 14.0% over the year.
At the more accessible end, the northern and north-eastern suburbs are where some of the healthier yields sit. Units in Midland returned around 5.2% on a median rent of $617, and units in Ellenbrook around 5.0% on $590 - with annual rent growth of 9.5% and 8.0% respectively.
The wider picture
No market moves in a straight line, and Cotality flags two things worth keeping in view. The first is affordability: nationally, around a third of the median household's income now goes towards rent, which may temper how much further rents can climb. The second is a change ahead for investors - from 1 July 2027, negative gearing will no longer apply to purchases of existing housing. That's a tax question rather than a property one, but it's part of the backdrop investors are weighing.
Set against strong rent growth, tight vacancies and a market that has closed the gap on Sydney, the June quarter leaves Perth in a strong position.
If you'd like to talk through what any of this means for a property you own, or one you're considering, we're always happy to.
Source: Cotality, Quarterly Rental Review, Australia, released July 2026. Figures are as at the June 2026 quarter. Cotality's latest research is published at cotality.com/au/insights.
This article summarises general property-market information from Cotality's report and is not financial, investment, or tax advice. Figures reflect the June 2026 quarter and market conditions change over time.
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