This article is about how Western Australia’s unit market outperformed houses in 2025, highlighting price growth, demand, rental performance and investor outcomes across different strata unit types.
In 2025, the rate of growth for the median sale price in the unit market surpassed that of the house market. The median unit sale* price rose 20.0 per cent to $600,000 over the year**, while the median house price rose 13.3 per cent to $850,000.
With houses becoming less affordable, more buyers are looking to the unit market. This has increased competition for these types of properties and amplified the upward pressure on prices. Based on current conditions, REIWA is expecting a similar rate of growth in 2026.
The unit market includes a significant amount of strata titled properties and can be broken down into four main types – villas, townhouses, home units and apartments. Performance varies across these types, and in this edition we look at the sale price growth, selling time, rent price growth, time to lease, and yield, for each type and compare them to the unit market as a whole.
Capital growth
All unit types saw their median sale price increase over 2025.
Home units recorded the most growth, with the median sale price rising 21.1 per cent to $545,000. Townhouses were the next best performer, with median sale price growth of 17.6 per cent.
Over a five-year period (December 2020 to December 2025), villas recorded the most growth of any unit type, with the median sale price increasing 87.0 per cent. Home units were the second best performer, with the median sale price rising 62.7 per cent. Long term, apartments recorded the lowest rate of price growth at just 34.0 per cent.
Annual median sale price
| Property type | 2025 | 2024 | 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change |
| Apartment | $656,000 | $575,000 | $489,500 | 14.1% | 34.0% |
| Home unit | $545,000 | $450,000 | $335,000 | 21.1% | 62.7% |
| Townhouse | $800,000 | $680,000 | $505,000 | 17.6% | 58.4% |
| Villa | $620,000 | $530,000 | $331,500 | 17.0% | 87.0% |
| UNITS (ALL) | $600,000 | $500,000 | $387,000 | 20.0% | 55.0% |
Time to sell
Villas were the top performing unit type, with dwellings selling in a median of nine days in 2025. All unit types have seen their days on market fall dramatically over five years.
Median time to sell (days)
| Property type | 2025 | 2024 | 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change |
| Apartment | 13 | 14 | 46 | -1 | -33 |
| Home unit | 11 | 10 | 43 | 1 | -32 |
| Townhouse | 11 | 10 | 40 | 1 | -29 |
| Villa | 9 | 8 | 41 | 1 | -32 |
| UNITS (ALL) | 12 | 11 | 44 | 1 | -32 |
This data suggests villas are particularly popular with price-conscious buyers looking for an alternative to houses. They are generally more affordable, while offering similar features, including their own yards/courtyards and garaging adjacent to the home.
The affordability of home units also appeals to buyers, along with the relative low-density of these developments.
Rent price growth
All unit types saw an increase in their median weekly rent price over the year. Home units and villas led the way, with median weekly rents rising 11.5 per cent to $580 and 8.9 per cent to $675 respectively.
Since 2020, there has been strong rent price growth across all unit types. The median weekly rents for home units and villas have doubled.
Median weekly rent
| Property type | 2025 | 2024 | 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change |
| Apartment | $670 | $620 | $365 | 8.1% | 83.6% |
| Home unit | $580 | $520 | $280 | 11.5% | 107.1% |
| Townhouse | $750 | $700 | $420 | 7.1% | 78.6% |
| Villa | $675 | $620 | $340 | 8.9% | 98.5% |
| UNITS (ALL) | $650 | $600 | $350 | 8.3% | 85.7% |
Time to lease
All unit types are leasing quickly, which reflects the overall strong demand for rental properties. Villas leased marginally faster than home units, townhouses and apartments.
Median time to lease (days)
| Property type | 2025 | 2024 | 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change |
| Apartment | 15 | 15 | 26 | 0 | -11 |
| Home unit | 15 | 14 | 25 | 1 | -10 |
| Townhouse | 15 | 15 | 23 | 0 | -8 |
| Villa | 14 | 14 | 22 | 0 | -8 |
| UNITS (ALL) | 15 | 15 | 25 | 0 | -10 |
Rental yield
When it comes to rental yield, villas and home units delivered the strongest results for investors in the year to December 2025 with yields of 5.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively.
Yields for units as a whole, and all unit types, have declined slightly due to strong capital growth and slowing rent price growth.
Apartments saw the most improvement in yields over the past five years, which is a reflection of their lower rate of capital growth.
| Property type | 2025 | 2024 | 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change |
| Apartment | 5.3% | 5.6% | 3.9% | -0.3% | 1.4% |
| Home unit | 5.5% | 6.0% | 4.3% | -0.5% | 1.2% |
| Townhouse | 4.9% | 5.4% | 4.3% | -0.5% | 0.6% |
| Villa | 5.7% | 6.1% | 5.3% | -0.4% | 0.3% |
| UNITS (ALL) | 5.6% | 6.2% | 4.7% | -0.6% | 0.9% |
For investors, villas and home units were the top performing unit types across most of the categories.
* REIWA publishes an annual median sale price based on settled sales
** Correct as at 22 January 2026
Definitions:
Apartment: Dwellings with no private grounds in a multi-storey complex and usually share a common entrance, foyer or stairwell. Apartment complex’s generally have lifts and common amenities such as a pool, gym or garden.
Home unit: Single-level dwellings in a multi-residential setting where the complex is no more than two storeys.
Townhouse: Two/three-storey dwellings with their own private grounds. They are in a multi-residential setting and have no other dwelling above or below. They are either attached in some structural way to one or more dwellings or are separated from neighbouring dwellings by less than half a metre.
Villa: Single-level dwellings with their own private grounds. They are in a multi-residential complex and have no other dwellings above or below.
Suzanne Brown REIWA E: info@reiwa.com.au P: 09 380 8222
This post appears in Strata News #778.
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This article has been republished with permission from the author and first appeared on the REIWA website.
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