To buy property in Perth, you make a written offer on the WA Offer and Acceptance form, which becomes a binding contract as soon as the seller signs and tells you. There is no automatic cooling-off period in WA, so finance, inspections and strata checks belong in the offer’s conditions. A settlement agent or lawyer you choose then completes settlement.
Perth runs on different paperwork and different habits from the east coast, and most of the expensive mistakes investors make here come from assuming otherwise. This guide sets the process out in the order it happens, with the WA rules cited to the people who make them. If you would rather have someone run it for you, that is our Perth buyers agent service, and if you are mainly after stock that never reaches the portals, start with off-market property in Perth.
What is different about buying in WA?
| WA rule | What it means for an investor |
|---|---|
| Most sales are by Offer and Acceptance (O&A), read with the Joint Form of General Conditions | The O&A is the contract. What you write in it, including special conditions, is what binds you |
| The O&A binds once the seller signs and acceptance is communicated to you | You cannot sign “to hold” the property and think about it later |
| No mandatory cooling-off period, unless both parties agree to insert one | Every protection you need has to be a written condition before you sign |
| You choose your own settlement agent or lawyer | The selling agent’s suggestion is optional |
| Strata sellers must give prescribed information before you sign | Do not sign an offer on a strata lot without the disclosure in hand |
| Foreign persons pay an extra 7% foreign transfer duty on residential property | Check your status before you budget |
Sources: Consumer Protection WA, Sale by offer and acceptance; Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA) s 156; WA Government, foreign transfer duty.
The process, stage by stage
1. Write the brief and get finance in order
An investment brief is narrower than a home buyer’s: the rent you need, the tenant you are buying for, the holding costs you can carry, and the property types you will and will not consider. Get pre-approval from your lender or broker before you start making offers. In WA it matters more than elsewhere, because a seller choosing between offers will usually favour the one with the fewest conditions, and an unresolved finance clause is a condition.
House Finder does not give lending or tax advice. Your broker and accountant should see the brief before you do anything else.
2. Research the market and the stock
Look at what actually sold, not what is advertised. Our guide to how to analyse comparable sales sets out the method. For an investor the rental side needs the same discipline: what similar properties lease for, how quickly, and to whom.
On stock, reiwa.com is the local portal run by the Real Estate Institute of WA, and since June 2021 it has offered Off-Market properties, shown only to registered users with saved-search alerts turned on (REIWA). Set those alerts up early. Selling agents’ own buyer lists are the other quiet channel, and they reward buyers who are ready to act.
3. Inspect and check before you offer
Because nothing cools off after you sign, the checks come first or go into conditions:
- Building and pest inspection. Make your offer conditional on a satisfactory report, with a clear deadline. Consumer Protection lists building and pest inspections as a typical condition (Consumer Protection WA).
- Strata. For a strata lot, section 156 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 requires the seller to give you prescribed information before you sign, on a Landgate approved form. Read it for levies, budgets, reserve funds, by-laws and anything proposed. If it is late or missing, the Act gives you rights, but you are far better off having it before you commit.
- Title and zoning. Easements, caveats and zoning affect both value and what you can do with the property. Your settlement agent or lawyer can search these.
- Tenancy position. If the property is tenanted, get the lease, the rent ledger and the bond details, and know the current rules (stage 7 below).
4. Make the offer on the O&A
The O&A and the Joint Form of General Conditions together are the standard WA contract. The current General Conditions are the 2022 edition, released by REIWA and the Law Society of WA, and the 2022 O&A allows a buyer to apply for finance through a lender or a mortgage broker (REIWA).
What goes in the offer:
- Price and deposit. Consumer Protection notes no deposit is legally required and the amount is negotiable, generally not more than 10%. It goes into a trust account, never directly to a seller in a private sale.
- Special conditions. Finance, building and pest, strata review, repairs to be done before settlement, and anything else you need. If it is not written in, you do not have it.
- The 48-hour clause. If your offer depends on selling another property, expect the seller to keep marketing and to be able to give you a short deadline to remove the condition if another buyer appears.
- Settlement date and your settlement agent. You can name your chosen settlement agent or lawyer on the O&A.
On competing offers, the seller can accept any offer or none, regardless of the order they arrived in. A counter offer is not a contract: the O&A binds only when both of you agree on every term, with changes initialled and dated.
5. Acceptance: the moment you are bound
Once the seller signs and you are told, you have a contract. From that point, the only ways out are the conditions you wrote in. Diary every condition deadline the same day, and send notices in writing.
6. Settlement
Settlement in WA is handled by a licensed settlement agent or a lawyer, acting for you, the seller or the lender (Consumer Protection WA, settlement agents). They prepare the transfer, deal with the seller’s side, calculate adjustments for rates and taxes, and arrange the money on the day.
Transfer duty is assessed by RevenueWA on the dutiable value of the property (WA Government, duties fact sheet: residential land). Use RevenueWA’s own calculator for your figure, rather than a third-party site, because concessions and rates change. Foreign persons pay an additional 7% foreign transfer duty.
7. Hand over to a property manager
The investment starts working at handover. WA’s tenancy rules changed in 2024: from 29 July 2024, rent can be increased only once every 12 months, tenants can keep pets with the landlord’s permission (refusal needs a legal reason or the Commissioner’s approval), and minor modifications are easier for tenants to make (Consumer Protection WA). Build that rent review cycle into your cash flow model before you buy, not after.
Buying in Perth from interstate
Plenty of Perth investment purchases are made by buyers who live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Three things matter more when you are not here.
Check the licence. In WA, anyone negotiating or conveying offers for others in a real estate transaction must be licensed or registered under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, and buyers agents are no exception (WA Government, scope of work). Check a WA licence on Consumer Protection’s licence search (Consumer Protection WA). REIWA notes that interstate agents can be checked on the Automatic Mutual Recognition register, and warns about unlicensed operators based interstate and overseas (REIWA).
Know who is standing in the property. Someone has to walk through it, check the street at different times, and look under the house or in the roof space. Ask exactly who that will be.
At House Finder, our strategists inspect on the ground and send 100+ photos and videos of each property, focusing on defects, before the building and pest inspection.
Have the paperwork ready to move. With no cooling-off and a contract that binds on communicated acceptance, an interstate buyer who has to find a settlement agent after the offer is accepted is already behind.
Where does off-market fit in Perth?
Off-market property in Perth is property sold through an agent’s buyer list, a REIWA Off-Market alert or a private approach, without a public campaign. It can mean less competition and terms that suit both sides. It does not mean a guaranteed discount, and property values can fall as well as rise. The checks above apply in full. More on how we approach off-market property in Perth, and on one area we look at closely, Perth’s eastern corridor.
Want us to run it?
House Finder acts for property investors only, with 4,000+ properties and 2,000+ clients behind us and a 5.0 rating from 400+ Google reviews. See our Perth buyers agent service, read how Perth buyers agent fees work, or book a strategy call.
About the author. Simon Loo founded House Finder, a buyers agency acting for property investors only. Simon was named Buyers Agent of the Year, Residential Investment, at the Australian Buyers Agent Awards 2026. This article is general information about the WA buying process. It is not legal, financial, credit or tax advice; get advice on your contract from a WA settlement agent or lawyer.
FAQ
How do you buy a house in Perth?
Get finance pre-approval, research sold prices and rents, inspect, then make a written offer on the WA Offer and Acceptance form with any conditions you need. Once the seller signs and tells you, the contract is binding. A settlement agent or lawyer you choose then handles settlement and the transfer.
Is there a cooling-off period when buying property in WA?
No. Western Australia has no mandatory cooling-off period for real estate contracts unless both parties agree to insert one. Protections such as finance approval, a building and pest inspection or a strata review need to be written into the offer as conditions before you sign.
When does an offer become binding in WA?
An Offer and Acceptance becomes a binding contract once the seller signs it and that acceptance is communicated to the buyer. A counter offer is not a contract; the document only binds when both parties agree on every term.
What does a settlement agent do in Perth?
A settlement agent, or a lawyer, handles the legal transfer of the property: preparing documents, checking title, calculating adjustments for rates and taxes, and arranging the funds at settlement. In WA settlement agents are licensed by Consumer Protection, and buyers can choose their own.
How much deposit do you need to buy property in Perth?
WA law does not set a required deposit; it is negotiated between buyer and seller and is generally not more than 10% of the price. It should be paid into an agent’s, settlement agent’s or lawyer’s trust account, not directly to the seller. Your lender’s deposit requirement is a separate question for your broker.
Can I buy property in Perth from interstate?
Yes. Many buyers do. Check that anyone negotiating for you holds a WA licence or is on the Automatic Mutual Recognition register, confirm who will physically inspect the property, and appoint your settlement agent before you make an offer, because WA contracts bind quickly and have no cooling-off.
