The WA Government has opened large tracts of land in Perth's outer suburbs in a bid to alleviate housing shortages. 

WA's current rental vacancy rate is at a historic low, with vacancy rates for houses and units in the greater Perth region dipping to 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.

The WA government has released 13 planning sites to build new homes in, as part of its “Perth to Peel @ 3.5 million” framework.

The framework is intended to guide the development of the Perth and Peel to accommodate a population of 3.5 million by 2050.

“This is part of the continual work to make sure there is land available into the future [and] to ensure that we continually create land opportunities and housing opportunities,” Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said.

However, she concedes that it could take up to five years for the blocks to hit the market.

“From our perspective it's about making sure we get the hurdles out of the way, that we work with industry, that we identify areas, and that we work with them to make sure they can deliver,” she said.

“But what we're trying to do is continually reassure the industry [and] the market that there's continued work to make sure there's land available.”