The vast majority of property owners who sold their home in the December 2015 quarter sold at in excess of their previous purchase price according the latest CoreLogic RP Data quarterly Pain and Gain Report
The Pain & Gain Report found that 91.6 per cent of properties resold for profit over the quarter with 31.2 per cent of homes selling for more than double their purchase price. The total value of all profit was $17.1 billion with the average gross ‘gain’ $270,842 per sale.
Only 8.4 per cent of homes resold recorded a gross loss compared with their original purchase price, up slightly from 8.3 per cent for the September quarter. The total value of loss over the quarter was $399 million. The average ‘pain’ felt for these properties was $69,493.
Report author Cameron Kusher said, “Whether for investment or owner occupation, the results highlight the fact that property ownership should be seen as a long-term investment.”
“Across the country, our results show that homes which resold for a loss had an average length of ownership of 6.7 years. For gross profit sales, the average length of ownership was recorded at 10.1 years, while homes which sold for more than double their previous purchase price were owned for an average of 17.7 years.
“Our results have shown that investors over owner occupiers were more likely to resell their properties at a loss. Over the quarter, 7.2 per cent of owner occupier sales nationally were at a gross loss compared to 10.6 per cent for investor owned stock.
“The losses experienced by investors comes down to the fact that this group may be more willing to accept a loss on sale due to the tax implications of being able to offset the loss against future capital gains,” he said.
The Pain & Gain report findings also confirmed a proportion of loss-making resales across the national capitals are now trending lower expect for Perth and Darwin where the instances of losses are increasing.
Mr Kusher said, “The trends reflect the fact that over the past year, home values have increased in all capital cities other than Perth and Darwin. Not so surprising is the result for Sydney and Melbourne; both cities have seen significant increases in home values over recent years and therefore, fewer loss-making resales occurred compared with other capital cities.”
Within the regional areas of the country the proportion of loss-making resales is higher than those within the capital cities. The proportion of loss-making resale’s is currently trending lower in Regional NSW, Regional Queensland, Regional Tasmania and is fairly flat in Regional Victoria and higher elsewhere.
Proportion of total resale’s at a loss/gain, houses vs. units, December 2015
Mr Kusher said, “Capital city housing markets continue to record a lower proportion of loss-making resales than regional areas of the country. We’re seeing the trend shifting in regional areas with the proportion of loss-making resales trending lower particularly in areas linked to tourism and lifestyle factors.
“Housing markets linked to the resources sector are generally seeing an increase in loss-making resale’s after housing market conditions in many of these locations have posted a sharp correction,” he said.
