More than one-in-six of the Auckland residential properties sold in the September Quarter of this year (Q3) were sold at a loss, according to property data company CoreLogic's latest Pain & Gain Report.
The quarterly report measures the percentage of residential sales in each major urban area that were sold for less than their previous purchase price, leaving their owners with a loss - which is the pain part of the report.
Across the entire country, 9.8% of sales in Q3 made a loss, while loss making property sales ranged from 2.5% of total sales in Queenstown-Lakes to 16.6% in Hastings. The table below shows the regional figures
The size of the losses were often substantial, with the median loss ranging from $10,000 in Gisborne to $106,750 in Napier.
Those losses will be magnified once selling expenses such as agent's and legal fees, and potential moving expenses, are added.
Of course if 9.8% of the properties sold in Q3 went at a loss, it follows that 90.2% were sold for more than, or at least as much as, their previous purchase price - the gain.
The report says the percentage of properties being sold for a profit is declining, while the percentage of loss-making sales is increasing.
"While most sellers are still making a profit, the balance has shifted in favour of buyers, giving them more leverage in price negotiations," CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said.
"These figures reflect a changing market, with buyers now holding the upper hand as challenges persist," he said.
"This follows a prolonged decline since the extended peak in 2021, when 99% of resales were profitable.
"Given the recent weakness in the wider housing market, it's not surprising that both frequency of profitable transactions and the size of the gains has decreased," he said.
The main determinant of whether a property sells for a profit or a loss is the length of time they have been owned by the vendor.
The median length of ownership for properties that sold at a loss was 2.9 years, while the median length of ownership for those that sold for a profit was 8.5 years.
However the type of property being sold also made a difference, with apartments much more likely to sell at a loss than houses.
In Q3, just over a third (34.9%) of the apartments sold made a loss, compared to just 8.9% of house sales that were loss making.
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| CoreLogic Pain & Gain Report | ||
| Q3 2024 | ||
| Residential Properties Selling at a Loss | ||
| Per cent of total sales | Median Loss | |
| Whangarei | 7.5% | -$45,250 |
| Auckland | 16.1% | -$69,500 |
| Hamilton | 10.6% | -$47,000 |
| Tauranga | 8.8% | -$75,000 |
| Rotorua | 5.4% | -$35,500 |
| Gisborne | 3.9% | -$10,000 |
| Napier | 10.8% | -$106,750 |
| Hastings | 16.6% | -$76,498 |
| New Plymouth | 6.4% | -$30,000 |
| Whanganui | 3.0% | -$98,674 |
| Palmerston North | 6.4% | -$67,500 |
| Wellington | 9.9% | -$93,575 |
| Nelson | 8.1% | -$72,500 |
| Christchurch | 4.4% | -$30,000 |
| Queenstown-Lakes | 2.5% | -$20,000 |
| Dunedin | 8.1% | -$32,500 |
| Invercargill | 4.1% | -$16,000 |
| Total NZ | 9.8% | -$55,000 |
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