Majority of properties sell for profit in 2013
Almost 90 per cent of properties sold in the first quarter of 2013 generated a profit according to RP Data.
The latest Pain and Gain report by the research house claimed 87.3 per cent of the 58,677 re-sold properites in Q1 2013 made a profit while just 12.7 per cent made a gross loss from the original purchase price.
Of the properties that generated a profit, 31.3 per cent managed to more than double in value.
Units in lifestyle locations such as Queensland’s Gold Coast region experienced the largest resale losses, with 37.1 per cent of all March quarter resales in the area transacting at a price lower than the home was purchased for.
The biggest loss-making resales across Regional Australia occurred in Queensland at 27.5 per cent, and in Western Australia at 20.2 per cent.
RP Data national research director Tim Lawless said the gross capital losses experienced across the broader Queensland property market could largely be attributed to weaker conditions across the lifestyle markets, such as the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and in far north Queensland where the correction in home values has been more significant.
“The likelihood of making a gross profit or loss is quite different, based on the length of time a property has been owned,” said Mr Lawless. “As a stark example, of those homes that were purchased prior to 1 January 2008 (pre-global financial crisis) and were subsequently sold during the March quarter of this year, only eight per cent of resales were made at a gross loss.”
However a quarter of properties bought post-January 2008 and sold in the March quarter were sold at a loss.
According to Mr Lawless’ findings, resales that incurred a gross loss over the March quarter had an average length of ownership of just 4.8 years while those that recorded a gross profit were held for an average of 9.7 years.
Homes that recorded a gross profit of more than 100 per cent were owned for an average of 15.4 years.