Report shows stable profit rates, but median gains dip for first time since 2023
Australia’s residential property market showed stable profitability in the March 2025 quarter, though unit resales continued to lag behind houses, according to Cotality’s latest Pain & Gain report.
Out of 86,363 properties resold during the quarter, 94.9% changed hands at a profit, largely unchanged from the December period. However, the national median resale profit declined slightly to $305,000, down from $310,000 in the previous quarter – marking the first drop since early 2023.
Standalone houses continued to deliver better outcomes than units, with 97.2% of house resales generating a gain. In contrast, 90.1% of unit resales were profitable. The median profit for houses reached $355,000, compared to $205,000 for units.
Units accounted for 62.6% of all loss-making transactions. Of the total resales analysed, 5.1% sold for less than their previous purchase price, equating to just under 4,400 properties. The typical loss for both houses and units remained similar, at $45,000 and $44,000 respectively.
Cotality head of research Eliza Owen (pictured) said underperformance in the unit sector has been persistent. “Several large apartment markets that saw a building boom in the late 2010s have yet to recover materially,” she said.
Over the decade to March 2025, house values across the country grew by 80.2%, more than double the 37.7% increase in unit values. Four local government areas – Melbourne, Parramatta, Port Phillip, and Stonnington – accounted for more than one in four of all unit resales that recorded a loss. Across these areas, average nominal unit values have increased by only 2.0% over the past 10 years.
The average hold period remained high at 8.8 years. However, there was a noticeable uptick in short-term resales, with properties held for two to four years accounting for 15.6% of transactions – the largest share among short-term sellers.
“These short-term sales may reflect fixed-term borrowers exiting during a rising interest rate environment,” Owen said. “This cohort had a higher rate of loss, which is unsurprising given the market downturn that followed rate hikes from 2022.”
Regional areas again outperformed capital cities, with 96.5% of sales delivering a profit, compared to 93.9% in the capitals. Cotality attributed this to continued demand for lifestyle properties and strong long-term growth.
“The outsized gains reflect not just price growth, but the enduring appeal of lifestyle locations through and beyond the pandemic,” Owen said.
In Noosa, Busselton, and the Sunshine Coast, resale profits exceeded $400,000. Noosa posted the largest rise in resale profit, jumping from $239,000 in 2020 to $617,500 in March 2025.
Brisbane led the nation for profitable resales, with 99.7% of transactions resulting in a gain. Adelaide followed at 98.9%, also overtaking Sydney for the highest median resale profit among capital cities at $385,000. Perth saw 97.9% of resales yield a gain, a slight improvement from the prior quarter.
Sydney recorded 92.3% profitable resales, slightly below its December figure. Melbourne had one of the weakest performances among major cities, with 11.3% of sales making a loss. Darwin posted the highest rate of loss-making sales at 26.2%, though this was an improvement from earlier in the year. Hobart and Canberra recorded 94.5% of resales as profitable, with Canberra improving from 93.4% in the December quarter.
Gross resale profits totalled an estimated $31.7 billion for the March quarter, down from $36.6 billion in December, but higher than the $30.2 billion reported a year earlier. Total losses fell to $258 million.
Despite the dip in profits, Owen said market momentum is building after the Reserve Bank’s recent interest rate reductions. “Although profitability held steady in early 2025, we’re seeing clear signs of renewed momentum,” she said. “With rate reductions now flowing through to buyer demand and value growth, we expect stronger resale returns in the months ahead.”
Want to be regularly updated with mortgage news and features? Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox – subscribe to our FREE daily newsletter. You can also follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.
