Suburbs where 100% of homes sell at a profit, and those where hardly any do

These are the suburbs where homeowners are unlikely to sell at a loss. Image: Getty

Australians living in large swathes of Tasmania, Victoria and elite Sydney suburbs will be grinning going into the new year, as new figures reveal the suburbs where it’s nearly impossible to sell at a loss.

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According to CoreLogic’s latest Pain and Gain report, sellers in five Australian suburbs found it near impossible to sell at a loss in the three months to December.

Sydney’s Mosman has 98.6 per cent of all sales delivering a profit, with a median profit of $436,800.

And in Melbourne, not a single home in the Macedon Ranges sold at a loss in the September quarter, delivering a median profit of $380,000.

Melton (98.3 per cent), Wyndham (98.2 per cent) and Moorabool (98.9 per cent) also saw few homes sell at a loss.

In Perth, Peppermint Grove didn’t see a single home sell at a loss, delivering a median profit of $185,750. Additionally, sellers only needed to wait 6.9 years to sell at a profit – significantly lower than the national average of 9.8 years for houses and 8.4 years for units.

And in Hobart, Brighton, Derwent Valley and Glenorchy were all bulletproof, with not one sale in those suburbs selling at a loss. Clarence (98.6 per cent) also saw few homes sell at a loss.

Houses v units

Across Australia, it’s far more likely that those with houses rather than apartments will sell at a profit. In fact, while nine-in-10 houses will sell at a profit nationally, only eight-in-10 units will sell at a profit.

In Sydney, 92.1 per cent of houses will sell at a profit, compared to 87.5 per cent of units.

The figures are similar in Melbourne, but Brisbane (63.5 per cent) and Adelaide (76.4 per cent) see significantly lower proportions of apartments sell at a profit.

In Perth, only 48 per cent of units sell at a profit - 36.3 per cent in the rest of Western Australia, compared to 67.1 per cent of houses in Perth.

It's nearly impossible to sell at a loss in Mosman. Image: Getty

Glenorchy delivered a median profit of $150,000 while Derwent Valley made $121,183 and Brighton made $105,000 for homeowners. Clarence delivered a median profit of $195,000.

Regions with the lowest proportion of loss-making resales

• Geelong (Vic) 1.2%

• Ballarat (Vic) 1.4%

• Hobart (Tas) 1.9%

• South East (Tas) 2.1%

• Hume (Vic) 2.6%

• Launceston and North East (Tas) 3.2%

• Bendigo (Vic) 3.2%

• Shepparton (Vic) 3.7%

• Coffs Harbour – Grafton (NSW) 3.8%

• Sunshine Coast (Qld) 4.0%

CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen noted Hobart’s strong performance.

“Hobart has experienced particularly large capital gains over the past five years and this has translated into exceptionally strong results for resellers of both houses and apartments during the past quarter,” she said.

“When it comes to generating a profit for the seller, owner-occupied properties have outperformed investment properties in all markets except for Hobart and Regional Tasmania,” she added.

“Over the September 2019 quarter, 98.8 per cent of investment properties resold in Hobart were profitable compared to 98.0 per cent of owner-occupied dwellings.”

Regions with the largest proportion of loss-making resales

Homes tend to sell at a loss in Bunbury. Image: Getty

Australia’s housing market saw a huge 4 per cent house price growth in the last three months of 2019, but not all housing markets are experiencing the same upswing.

The north and south Western Australian outback regions are the regions where the least houses sell at a profit.

In the West Australian north outback region, 58.1 per cent of homes sold at a loss in the September 2019 quarter, and 49.5 per cent of homes sold at a loss in the southern region.

That’s followed by Darwin, where 48.3 per cent of homes sold at a loss and Townsville, where 38.2 homes sold at a loss.

Largest proportion of loss-making resales

1. Outback North (WA) 58.1%

2. Outback South (WA) 49.5%

3. Darwin (NT) 48.3%

4. Townsville (Qld) 38.2%

5. Bunbury (WA) 37.5%

6. Mackay - Isaac – Whitsunday (Qld) 37.3%

7. Perth (WA) 36.4%

8. Central Queensland (Qld) 35.5%

9. Wheat Belt (WA) 35.1%

10. Outback (Qld) 30.7%

“The instances of resales at a loss in the major mining regions remain at heightened levels. Although losses remain high, the rate has reduced from historic peaks, which have occurred over the past few years,” the report said.

“Although there may be fewer resales at a loss in these regions, prospective buyers are likely to remain cautious of these markets considering the recent history of spectacular value falls post mining boom.”

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