New data from Domain’s latest Profit and Loss Report shows Brisbane and Perth homeowners are realising some of the largest resale profits in the country, while many new entrants are being pushed into smaller properties and units at higher mortgage rates.
Across Australia, 97.6% of house resales made a profit last year, with Brisbane and Perth now leading the nation for the share of sellers in the black. In both cities, 99.5% of houses resold over the past year recorded a gain, with Brisbane vendors banking a median profit of $580,000 and Perth owners $528,000. In many cases, those profits are close to – or greater than – what a house cost a decade ago.
But that equity boom is now running up against a much tougher rate backdrop. After three cuts last year, the Reserve Bank has twice lifted the cash rate this year – most recently by 25 basis points to 4.1% – with another increase in May still on the table and no cuts expected over the next 12 months.
That surge in equity has also changed which cities are leading the pack on resale gains.
For the first time in about 15 years, the breadth of gains has shifted away from Sydney and Melbourne towards the west and north. Sydney still delivers the largest median house profit at $750,000, but Brisbane and Perth now dominate for the proportion of sellers making money on resale.
Nicola Powell (pictured), Domain chief of research and economics, says this marks a clear change in leadership.
“Both Perth and Brisbane have delivered record amounts of profits, and it says a lot about the market over the past five to six years,” Powell said.
She notes that much of this equity is reinvested rather than cashed out: “What we see in practice is most people reinvest into another home, and that’s described as rolled forward into an asset.”
The boom has spilled into the apartment market as stretched house affordability redirects demand. Brisbane has overtaken Sydney as the most profitable city for unit resales, with a median gain of $325,000 and 99.1% of sellers ahead. Sydney unit resellers made a median profit of $216,288, with 87.2% in the black.
Local agents report long-term homeowners in blue‑chip suburbs and downsizers are among the biggest winners, while first-home buyers and some property investors are pushed towards smaller, cheaper stock. That is lifting the floor under unit prices and reshaping borrowing needs, particularly for entry-level clients trying to qualify under tighter serviceability buffers.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver warns that the boom is reinforcing a divide in the market.
“The real winners are those who are in the market, and the losers are those trying to get in,” Oliver said.
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