Safe as houses: home resale profits go through the roof
Australian homeowners are in their strongest financial position, with average resale profits at all-time highs.
According to Domain’s latest Profit and Loss Report, 97.5 per cent of residential sales and 88.3 per cent of unit resales across Australia made a profit in the second half of 2025.
The average household income in Australia’s capital increased by 14.7 percent annually to $530,000, while across regions it increased by 15.8 percent to $330,000.
Domain’s head of economics and research, Nicola Powell, said homeowners were holding on to their properties longer and achieving higher sales prices, while supply and demand continued to put pressure on values.
“We know that these (fast-growing) markets are really led by Perth and Brisbane and Adelaide, and that’s due to a severe housing shortage, very tight rental markets, as well as strong population growth rates,” Dr Powell told AAP.
Rising property prices have also widened the gap between homeowners and those trying to get a foot on the property ladder.
“It’s challenging for first-time homebuyers who perhaps don’t have family support, and you can see why the ‘mom and pop bank’ has become such an important lender in the housing market,” Dr Powell said.
Only one in every 200 house sales in Brisbane and Perth failed to make a profit, but one capital city rose above the rest in terms of realized profits.
“Sydney remains equity overweight,” Dr Powell said.
“It has the depth of snow and the highest profit margin of all our major capital cities.”
The average profit on a house sold in Sydney was $750,000, up 11.1 per cent year-on-year.
This compares with $580,000 in Brisbane, $539,500 in Adelaide, $528,000 in Perth and $390,000 in Melbourne; here no more than two in every 50 sales made a profit.
Melbourne also had the lowest annual profit growth at 1.6 per cent; this was well below the national average of 14.9 per cent, with growth greater than the 22.9 per cent recorded in Brisbane and Perth.
Average profit on Darwin homes was lowest at $201,000, while Canberra was the riskiest place to buy a home, with almost seven per cent of sales ending in losses.
Units were also making record profits, but the $228,000 nationwide average was significantly less than the $440,000 for homes, and with 11 percent selling below the purchase price, the real estate group was more likely to lose money.
Brisbane was the best place to have a unit; They sold for an average profit of $235,000, and less than one in 100 sold at a loss.
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