WA economy grows but by less than the rest

The Barnett government has received mixed economic news 10 days before the WA election, with the state enjoying positive economic growth for the first time since mid 2015 but ranking as the nation's weakest performer.

Perth's property market was also the worst performer, with house prices falling 2.4 per cent in February and 4.5 per cent over the past year in contrast to Sydney where they shot up 18.4 per cent over the year.

WA's economic activity increased 0.4 per cent in the December quarter, following a 4.3 per cent decrease in the September quarter.

WA's performance was the weakest among the states, with gross domestic product growing 1.1 per cent nationally in the final three months of 2016, taking annual growth to 2.4 per cent.

Premier Colin Barnett said Wednesday's figures only included state domestic activity and when more thorough "gross state product" figures became available, including higher prices for iron ore exports, it would show WA's economy performing more strongly.

"So I suspect WA's growth rate now is probably back equal or above the national average," he told reporters.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan described it as only a modest improvement and said the economy would get a "a kickstart" from Labor's economic plan.

The quarterly rise in WA was driven by private and public gross fixed capital formation while household and government final consumption expenditure detracted from growth, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

The median dwelling price in Perth at the end of February of $477,000 was fourth highest among the eight capital cities, with Sydney the most expensive at $795,000, according to CoreLogic figures.