87.3 per cent of residential properties sold for a profit during March 2013 quarter

RP Data's latest Pain and Gain report shows that 87.3 per cent of Australian residential properties sold for a profit during the March quarter of 2013.

According to RP Data's national research director, Tim Lawless, there were 58,677 residential property re-sales recorded nationally over the second quarter of 2013, with 87.3 per cent of these properties turning a gross profit relative to their original purchase price. The gross profit from these re-sales equated to $9.6 billion.

Mr Lawless noted that the likelihood of making a gross profit or loss varied based on the length of time a property had been owned.

"As a stark example, those homes that were purchased prior to 1 January 2008 (pre-GFC), and were subsequently sold during the March quarter of this year, only eight per cent of re-sales were made at a gross loss," explained Mr Lawless.

"For those homes that were purchased on or after 1 January 2008, the propensity to make a loss on the sale climbs substantially. Of those homes that sold over the March quarter, 25 per cent recorded a gross loss relative to the previous purchase price."

The report showed that lifestyle regions such as the Gold Coast experienced the largest proportion of loss making re-sales, with 37.1 per cent of all March quarter re-sales transacting at a price lower than the original purchase price.

Mr Lawless said the weakness seen in regional Queensland was mostly reflective of the significant correction in home values that had occurred within many parts of the marketplace.

In contrast, the report revealed that regional areas often associated with the resources sector recorded very low rates of loss making re-sales, with Queensland's Central West, Victoria's Loddon region and the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia all recording fewer than five per cent of March quarter transactions at a loss.

The lowest proportion of loss making re-sales was recorded in Canberra (4.8 per cent), Perth (6.3 per cent), regional Northern Territory (6.8 per cent), and Sydney (7.1 per cent).

For more information about the residential property market in your areas of interest, please feel free to stop by your local Century 21 Real Estate office for expert and clear advice.


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