The top 20 local government areas where more homeowners are selling at a loss

The Australian property market has recorded 17 consecutive months of growth overall, as limited supply and high demand in most markets continue to trump the impact of higher interest rates. The median Australian home value lifted 8 percent over FY24, but not every part of the market is strong.

The profitability of resold properties provides an insight into how home or investment property ownership can go right and wrong, with a key factor being the length of time the asset is held. CoreLogic’s latest Pain and Gain report reveals 94.3 percent of 85,000 resales in the March quarter sold at a profit. That’s the highest rate of profitability since July 2010 and reflects recent strong selling conditions in most markets except Victoria and Tasmania.

The median gain per profitable resale was $265,000. Houses were more likely to resell at a profit, with 97.1 percent of house resales profitable compared to 89 percent of apartment resales. The flipside to the data is 5.7 percent of all resales resulted in a loss. The median amount of that loss was $40,000, however, that’s just in the value of the property. It does not factor in the significant costs of buying the property, such as stamp duty; nor the selling costs, such as the agents’ fee.

CoreLogic’s Head of Research Eliza Owen said short-term resales indicate how households are responding to higher interest rates. According to the report: “The two-year resales trend seems to have peaked in the year to August 2023, roughly two years after the peak in fixed term borrowing back in 2021. This data suggests the sticker shock from higher mortgage rates may have had some influence on decisions to sell more property than otherwise would have transacted after a short hold period.”

The median hold period of all resold homes was 8.8 years in the March quarter. “Time in the market rather than timing the market is critical to maximising returns for most resales,” Ms Owen said. “Generally, the longer a vendor holds a property the higher the returns, with vendors selling after 30 or more years attracting the largest median gain of $780,000.” By comparison, the median gain among profitable resales that occurred within two years of purchase was $82,000.

Within the top 20 local government areas (LGAs) of each capital city where the highest proportion of loss-making sales occurred, a common theme was shorter hold periods for the loss-making sales compared to the profit-making sales in 14 of those 20 areas.

Here are the top 20 capital city LGAs for the most loss-making sales in the March quarter.

Melbourne LGA

Loss-making sales totalled 38.9 percent of all resales in Melbourne. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 9.8 years and the median capital loss was $54,500.

Perth LGA

Loss-making sales totalled 38.4 percent of all resales in Perth. Vendors who sold at a loss held their properties for a median of 11.5 years and the median loss was $54,000.

Darwin LGA

Loss-making sales totalled 33.6 percent of all resales in Darwin. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 10.4 years and the median capital loss was $70,000.

Stonnington LGA, Melbourne

Loss-making sales totalled 29.8 percent of all resales in Stonnington. Home or investment owners who sold at a loss held their properties for a median of nine years. The median loss was $57,000.

Palmerston LGA, Darwin

Loss-making sales totalled 26.5 percent of all resales in Palmerston, which is a satellite city to Darwin. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 10.2 years and the median loss was $82,000.

Parramatta LGA, Sydney

Loss-making sales totalled 25.3 percent of all resales in Parramatta. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 7.8 years and the median capital loss was $49,750.

More than a quarter of properties sold in Parramatta made a loss in the past financial year. Image: Shutterstock

Yarra LGA, Melbourne

Loss-making sales totalled 24.7 percent of all resales in Yarra. Owners who sold at a loss held their properties for a median of 8.2 years. The median loss was $40,000.

Port Phillip LGA, Melbourne

Loss-making sales totalled 23.9 percent of all resales in Port Phillip. Vendors who sold at a loss held their properties for a median of 8.7 years and the median capital loss was $42,000.

Strathfield LGA, Sydney

Loss-making sales totalled 22.8 percent of all resales in Strathfield. The median hold period was 7.4 years and the median loss was $60,000.

Ryde LGA, Sydney

Loss-making sales totalled 22.4 percent of all resales in Ryde. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 7.8 years. The median capital loss was $51,500.

Burwood LGA, Sydney

Loss-making sales totalled 20.9 percent of all resales in Burwood. Home or investment owners who sold at a loss held their properties for a median of just 5.3 years and the median loss was $63,500.

20.9 percent of properties in Burwood sold at a loss in the past financial year.

Vincent LGA, Perth

Loss-making sales totalled 20.5 percent of all resales in Vincent. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 10.2 years. The median loss was $40,000.

Maribyrnong LGA, Melbourne

Loss-making sales totalled 20.4 percent of all resales in Maribyrnong. The median hold period was 6.7 years and the median capital loss was $37,250.

Boroondara LGA, Melbourne

Loss-making sales totalled 19.7 percent of all resales in Boroondara. Property owners who sold at a loss held their assets for a median of 9.1 years and the median loss was $40,000.

Moonee Valley LGA, Melbourne

Loss-making sales totalled 17.9 percent of all resales in Moonee Valley. The median hold period was 7.3 years. The median capital loss was $41,000.

Belmont, Perth

Loss-making sales totalled 17.4 percent of all resales in Belmont. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 10.1 years and the median loss was $35,000.

Cumberland LGA, Sydney

Loss-making sales totalled 15.4 percent of all resales in Cumberland. Home or investment owners who sold at a loss held their properties for a median of 7.2 years. The median loss was $35,000.

Subiaco LGA, Perth

Loss-making sales totalled 14.3 percent of all resales in Subiaco. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 10 years and the median loss was $50,000.

Victoria Park LGA, Perth

Loss-making sales totalled 13 percent of all resales in Victoria Park. The median hold period was 10.2 years. The median capital loss was $42,500.

Sydney LGA

Loss-making sales totalled 12.6 percent of all resales in Sydney. The median hold period among loss-making sales was 7.2 years and the median loss was $57,000.

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