People who own property could earn more than $30,000 a year, if the market is good, simply by holding their assets for about nine years.
The windfall profits made by Australian property sellers have hit an all-time high with landlords raking in hundreds every week, dwarfing what renters pay to keep a roof over their heads.
The average property resale profit in the September quarter was $295,000 on 95,000 sales.
It is the highest quarterly gain recorded by real estate data analysts at CoreLogic, which has tracked resales since the mid-1990s.
Over an average nine-year holding period, that works out to more than $32,700 a year, or about $630 a week, data released Wednesday shows.
That’s similar to the national average weekly rent, which reached $627 per week according to CoreLogic data released in May.
While not everyone is making a profit, the percentage of suppliers making losses fell to five percent, which was the lowest level in more than 15 years and a rate not seen since early 2008.
The average loss remained stable at $40,000.
The average Australian homeowner has seen their property increase by an average of about $630 a week over the past nine years (file image)
The increase is comparable to the national average weekly rent, which reached $627 per week (file image)
In total, resellers’ nearly $34 billion in profits dwarfed their $270 million in losses.
Amid strong demand for housing, sellers were able to hold on to properties, but some who struggled to stay current on their mortgages had no choice, said CoreLogic research director Eliza Owen.
“There are clearly still pockets of pain where home sellers need to offload their properties despite weak market conditions, or values ​​remaining substantially below previous all-time highs,” said Ms. Owen.
Increases in interest rates in recent years potentially contributed to those who suffered losses being more likely to have held the property for a shorter period of time.
“This may be reflected in the relatively strong increase in homes sold which has held up for two to four years,” Ms Owen said.
The average retention period for loss-making sales was eight years.
Brisbane recorded its second quarter topping the company’s Pain and Gain report, with 99.4 per cent of properties reselling for a profit, up from 97.4 per cent a year earlier.
The rate of loss sales increased in Darwin and Melbourne.
Units were three times more likely to sell for less than they were bought for compared to houses, which attracted a median profit of $345,000, compared to $200,000 for units, in line with long-term trends.