In a sign that demand for housing remains strong, housing lending continued to push higher over March.
Both owner occupier and investor lending continue to increase at a rapid pace, with owner occupier lending up 17.5% over the year to March and investor lending skyrocketing 63.8% over the same period. This strong demand continues to place upward pressure on house prices, with the median house price in Perth soaring 21.3% in the year to April. 
Retail trade slows as cost of living bites
Retail trade data released this week showed retail trade volumes (i.e. adjusted for inflation) fell over the three months to March, down 0.8%.
This was the sharpest decline of all states and brings retail trade volumes back to the same level as December 2021. This is despite the fact that WA’s population continues to grow at its fastest pace in more than a decade, in a sign that cost-of-living pressures continue to bite as households pull back on their spending.
State Budget
The WA State Budget was handed down on Thursday, with the State recording a sixth consecutive budget surplus in 2023-24 of $3.2 billion. Looking ahead to the 2024-25 budget year, another surplus is also expected, although slightly smaller at $2.6b.
Despite this, net debt continues to rise and is expected to reach $32.7b in 2024-25, up from $28.6b in 2023-24. Net debt is forecast to grow further over the outyears, climbing to $40.9b by 2027-28.
CCIWA’s Economic reports are available exclusively to CCIWA Complete, Advantage and Corporate Members. For more see CCIWA’s Economic Insight page.
