The Australian locations where homeowners are selling at a loss
The portion of properties sold at a loss within three years of ownership has almost doubled in one year
2 min
Loss-making resales of homes and investment properties held for less than three years are on the rise, indicating more stress in the marketplace amid high interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis. CoreLogic data shows that of the 86,000 resales during the third quarter of 2023, 6.6 percent were sold at a loss after less than three years of ownership. This is up from 3.6 percent in the September quarter of 2022 and represents a 10-year high, according to CoreLogic’s head of research, Eliza Owen.
Properties held for three years or less represented one in five of all loss-making resales, according to the report. These types of sales were seen in many markets across the country. However, the areas recording the highest portion of these sales were Melbourne–Inner at 4.1 percent, Melbourne–West at 3.7 percent and Sydney’s Central Coast at 3.6 percent. The median loss for these resales was $30,000.
Most of the loss-making resales among properties held for less than three years were houses, at 64.8 percent. Ms Owen said this was quite a different trend to all loss-making resales across all tenure periods. On that broader basis, more of the overall loss-making resales were apartments at 70.9 percent.
It is a commonly held view among property experts that real estate must be held over the long term to achieve strong capital growth. This is partly because property prices typically move in cycles that can take several years to complete. Property is also an asset class that involves high entry and exit costs such as stamp duty, legal fees, marketing costs and agents’ commissions. This makes selling after only short periods of ownership undesirable, indicating that those who are choosing to do this are likely to be experiencing financial stress.
During the second half of 2023, thousands of mortgages rolled over from fixed periods of two or three years at interest rates below 2 percent or 3 percent to variable rates of above 5 percent or 6 percent. Some of these sales may reflect the ‘mortgage cliff’ effect of this change. Looking ahead, Ms Owen pointed out that the Reserve Bank of Australia is forecasting unemployment to rise to 4.2% by the end of 2024 and “this will test serviceability, and may lead to an increase in motivated selling for mortgagors with high debt levels and low savings buffers”.
Ms Owen also emphasises that short-term loss-making resales make up only a small portion of the Australian housing market and this was not expected to change. “This is ultimately a small share of mortgagors, so the portion of short–term resales is not expected to grow substantially from where it is now. Ongoing increases in home values nationally should contain the rate of loss-making short–term resales, though capital growth conditions were looking weaker across Sydney and Melbourne to the end of [2023],” she said.
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More than 10,000 homes, an expansive central park and a mix of hospitality, retail and wellness facilities will form Azizi Developments’ first master-planned community in the emirate.
2 min
Sharjah is set to receive one of its largest new residential communities, with Azizi Developments unveiling plans for a US$8.1 billion master-planned precinct containing more than 10,000 homes.
Named Azizi Florence, the freehold development will comprise 1,130 villas, more than 6,000 townhouses and 3,500 apartments. Three-bedroom townhouses will start from US$515,000, with an indicative rate of US$231 per square foot of saleable space.
The project marks the Dubai-based developer’s first move into Sharjah, expanding a portfolio that includes the planned Burj Azizi skyscraper and the Azizi Venice community in Dubai.
A park at the heart of the community
Rather than treating landscaping as an afterthought, Azizi Florence will be organised around a 1.7 million sq ft central park.
The wider precinct is planned as a self-contained neighbourhood combining homes with retail, hospitality, education, leisure and wellness facilities.
Six residential clusters will sit within the development, each with its own park, clubhouse, community centre and landscaped gardens. The approach reflects a broader shift across large Middle Eastern developments, where greenery, recreation and everyday convenience are increasingly central to the residential proposition.
The scale of Azizi Florence suggests it is intended to function as a neighbourhood rather than a collection of housing estates. Its mix of housing types should also give the project broader appeal, accommodating apartment buyers alongside families seeking townhouses or standalone villas.
Azizi expands beyond Dubai
Azizi Developments has delivered more than 45,000 homes to buyers from over 100 countries and says it has approximately 150,000 units under construction.
Much of its growth has been concentrated in Dubai, where its portfolio extends across Palm Jumeirah, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Dubai South, Sheikh Zayed Road and Downtown Jebel Ali.
Its most prominent current project is Burj Azizi, which is intended to become the world’s second-tallest building. Azizi Florence represents a different type of undertaking: a low-rise, family-oriented community built around public space and daily amenity.
For company founder and chairman Mirwais Azizi, the Sharjah project also carries a personal connection. The emirate was his first home in the UAE more than three decades ago, adding a symbolic dimension to the developer’s expansion.
Sharjah’s residential ambitions grow
Although Dubai and Abu Dhabi have traditionally captured much of the international attention directed at the UAE property market, Sharjah has been steadily broadening its residential offering.
Large freehold communities such as Azizi Florence have the potential to attract both local families and international purchasers looking for comparatively accessible entry points into the Emirates’ property market.
At a starting price of US$515,000, the project’s three-bedroom townhouses will sit well below the cost of equivalent family homes in many of Dubai’s more established luxury communities.
The ultimate appeal, however, will depend on execution. At this scale, the quality of the public realm, connections between residential clusters and delivery of the promised supporting infrastructure will be as important as the homes themselves.
If those elements come together, Azizi Florence could help establish a new benchmark for large-scale residential development in Sharjah—and give buyers another option beyond the UAE’s better-known property markets.
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