Australians earn average profit of $326,000 selling homes,
As Australia’s property market soars, more homeowners are making big profits when selling their properties.
The new Domain Profit & Loss Report shows that many cities are seeing the highest rates of profit from resales in years. Brisbane stands out with 99.5% of houses selling for a profit.
Across the country, the average profit from selling a house is $326,000, and for units, it’s $171,000. These figures are the highest they’ve been in 16 and 13 years, respectively.
In regional areas, the average profit is $245,000 for houses, the highest since 2009, and $196,000 for units. This is significantly higher compared to the combined capital cities, where the average profit for units is $163,000.
“More homeowners are making a profit from selling their properties now than in over a decade,” says Dr. Nicola Powell, Domain’s chief of research and economics, despite high property prices.
She explains that profit levels tend to rise with property prices.
Interestingly, it’s not Baby Boomers who are making the most money. Instead, Generation X and older Millennials, who are usually in their late 30s and 40s, are seeing the biggest profits.
“While Baby Boomers have made a lot from years of increasing home prices, it’s their children who are benefiting the most in today’s market,” Powell adds.
“People in their late 30s to late 40s are usually well-set in their careers, have equity from their current home, and can borrow more money to buy a bigger or more expensive property.”
Suburbs with the largest house profit by city, ranked by percentage gain
Brisbane-based buyer’s agent Lauren Jones has noticed that Generation X and older Millennials are making more money when selling their homes. This often allows them to buy bigger or nicer properties next.
“People in this age group are cashing in big time, especially since they’ve made a lot of money quickly,” she says. “They’re used to high interest rates, so that doesn’t stop them from selling, and they’re taking out larger mortgages.”
Jones also points out that these generations are more likely to spend money on marketing their homes, like staging them to look their best. In contrast, Baby Boomers often have older homes that don’t sell for as much as the well-styled homes do.
While Brisbane is leading with 99.5% of houses selling for a profit, Melbourne is the second highest at 97.9%.
Powell notes that even though Melbourne hasn’t fully recovered in house prices, the profit rate is still high, though lower than the 99.3% seen in 2022.
|
Location
|
Houses | Units | ||
| Profit | Loss | Profit | Loss | |
| Australia | 96.00% | 4.00% | 90.70% | 9.30% |
| Combined capitals | 96.00% | 4.00% | 89.40% | 10.60% |
| Combined regionals | 96.10% | 3.90% | 94.60% | 5.40% |
| Sydney | 95.60% | 4.40% | 89.40% | 10.60% |
| Melbourne | 97.90% | 2.10% | 85.30% | 14.70% |
| Brisbane | 99.50% | 0.50% | 95.60% | 4.40% |
| Adelaide | 96.80% | 3.20% | 89.90% | 10.10% |
| Perth | 97.10% | 2.90% | 91.10% | 8.90% |
| Canberra | 94.00% | 6.00% | 94.40% | 5.60% |
| Hobart | 96.80% | 3.20% | 96.30% | 3.70% |
| Darwin | 88.40% | 11.60% | 68.20% | 31.80% |
Even though Sydney has the highest median house price at $1.6 million, it has the third-lowest percentage of profitable house sales at 95.6%. However, Sydney leads in dollar profit, with houses making a median profit of $655,000.
Following Sydney, Canberra has a median profit of $435,000, Melbourne $397,000, Brisbane $395,000, and Adelaide $351,000.
For units, Hobart has the highest percentage of profitable sales at 96.3%. Darwin has the lowest, with only 68.2% of units selling for a profit.
In terms of dollar profit from units, Sydney, Hobart, and Adelaide are at the top, with profits of $202,000, $198,000, and $175,000, respectively.
Powell explains that places like Hobart and Adelaide have higher profits from units because there are fewer available apartments. This shortage of affordable units in central city areas pushes up prices and leads to higher profits.
In some suburbs, units are actually making more profit than houses. Many of these suburbs are popular with holidaymakers, where people choose units because they are more affordable, according to Powell.
| Suburb | Capital | Unit profit | Houses profit | Unit profit premium |
| Evanston | Adelaide | 142.9% ($200,000) | 46.0% ($145,000) | 96.90% |
| Rosanna | Melbourne | 147.1% ($500,000) | 60.5% ($447,500) | 86.60% |
| Semaphore Park | Adelaide | 156.0% ($312,000) | 85.2% ($371,000) | 70.80% |
| Pinjarra | Perth | 128.5% ($210,750) | 70.9% ($198,500) | 57.60% |
| MacLeod | Melbourne | 108.1% ($465,000) | 58.8% ($414,750) | 49.30% |
| Long Jetty | Sydney | 130.2% ($385,500) | 84.5% ($403,000) | 45.70% |
| Heathmont | Melbourne | 105.5% ($371,500) | 61.7% ($385,000) | 43.80% |
| Modbury | Adelaide | 125.0% ($235,000) | 82.9% ($304,000) | 42.10% |
| Aspendale | Melbourne | 123.9% ($452,350) | 86.5% ($562,000) | 37.40% |
| Kilsyth | Melbourne | 93.4% ($344,000) | 58.3% ($272,750) | 35.10% |
In the Sydney suburb of Long Jetty, units have made 45.7% more profit than houses.
Graeme Naughton, a real estate agent with LJ Hooker The Entrance, explains that this is because there is a high demand for affordable units.
“People who can’t afford a house in Long Jetty end up buying a unit, which is usually about half the price,” he says.
Overall, the market is making a profit, according to Powell. Even in the few suburbs where there have been losses, most of the resales are still turning a profit.
“Across Australia, only 33 suburbs had some house sales that resulted in a loss—just 1% of the suburbs we looked at,” Powell says. “For units, 206 suburbs experienced some loss-making sales, which is 14.8% of the suburbs we analyzed.”
Powell advises homeowners worried about losing money to think long-term.
“Homeowners who stay in the market for a longer time and go through several property cycles are seeing the benefits,” she says.
“If you bought a property wisely and are selling it now, the chances of making a loss are very low.”
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