08-07-2025
Pilbara rents more expensive than mortgages across every single suburb
Home owners were disappointed by the Reserve Bank's decision on Tuesday to hold the cash rate at 3.85 per cent.
But despite the unexpected hold, Karratha resident Bianca Dawson said she was glad she purchased her house.
"We have no regrets about buying," she said.
Her relief at exiting the rental market is not a surprise.
A recent Domain report found the Pilbara accounted for 11 of the top 12 suburbs across Australia with the biggest discrepancy between the cost of renting and buying a home.
In Karratha, 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, the median house price ranges from $545,000–$755,000, depending on the suburb.
But rents in the town have surged to well over $1,000 per week.
"Our median [rent] now is at $1,350 a week, but what's happened compared to the rest of the country is the housing prices actually haven't gone up as much," Mayor Daniel Scott said.
"They have risen, but they haven't risen as fast.
"We are now in a unique position where if you move to Karratha, particularly if you're a young person, you can get a good-paying job … and you can buy a house."
The City of Karratha's population is expected to increase in the coming years, with modelling showing the population reaching 30,000 by 2030.
Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre director Alan Duncan said the report was not surprising.
"The population has grown across all regional areas of WA by around 2.2 per cent, but at the same time our rental stock has flatlined," Professor Duncan said.
"That pressure is the thing that's really sort of pushing rents higher."
But buying is far from a guarantee for people in town looking for somewhere to live.
Ray White Karratha managing director Richard Naulls said a shortage of housing generally continued to pose challenges for the community.
"Obviously we've got a shortage of housing. It's always about supply and demand," he said.
Mr Naulls also said the high rent yield attracted interstate investors.
"They're trying to get a 10 per cent return sort of thing," he said.
"You're not going to get that sort of return putting your money in a term deposit."
Bianca Dawson said she and her partner were lucky they purchased privately.
"There were lots of people at the home opens, lots of calls from real estate agents and things like that, saying it was time to put the offer in if we wanted to," she said.
Although the mortgage itself worked out cheaper, Ms Dawson said there were other costs.
"Land rates here are crazy high because they're to do with the rental value of the property," she said.
"With the water, you don't just pay your water bill; you have to pay for the usage and the rights and everything like that.
"Home and contents insurance was way more expensive than what we would have ever thought."
The situation has forced the local council to intervene.
The City of Karratha adopted a policy providing accommodation to low and middle-income earners at its June council meeting, as well as investing in a project that will see 37 new residences.
Cr Scott said the project was funded out of necessity.
"The council made a decision to invest $26 million plus GST, which we funded from our infrastructure reserves to make that project in Baynton West … a reality," he said.
"The city doesn't really want to own all these properties, but we recognise there's a market failure and we're playing our role to get more accommodation in the city."
Mr Naulls said these new construction projects would likely see property prices increase.
"It's been very stable, very gradual, but as soon as this construction takes off, you'll see investors, companies coming to town," he said.
"That's where prices then get pushed up, and it makes it more difficult for people to buy or afford to buy."
