Ups and Downs – When to buy

Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a second investment property and am keen on areas south of Perth. Looking at some of the growth stats for areas such as Secret Harbour, Madora Bay, Mandurah etc show good 5 – 10 yr growth but negative growth for last 12 months (up to 5% negative!). My questions are:

Is is safe to view this as a market correction.
What are the likeyhoods of a return to growth.
What is the likely growth going to look like.

It is a buyers market at the moment with low prices and long sales times but I note a low vacancy rate for rentals (2.5%). Some mixed messages here so a bit confused.