Canberra property sellers saw hefty profits between March and July 2022 as ACT prices began to inch downwards while interest rates increased for the first time in more than a decade.
The Gungahlin suburb of Crace took out the top spot as the Canberra suburb with the largest median property profit at a whopping $879,500. Forde and Kambah followed behind with profits of $526,100 and $413,000 respectively.
Senior economist at Prop Track, Paul Ryan, says he would consider Canberra property sellers to be making a significant profit.
“I think the profit sellers made over the past five months is really high compared to recent history across the country. Typically, sellers were making $260,000 of profit on purchases, so the price is twice the level before the pandemic,” Mr Ryan says.
“In Canberra particularly, you see in these top profit suburbs the typical seller has held the property for around nine years, which is a long time. Typically, it would be held for around seven.”
Top 10 Canberra suburbs with the largest median property profit
| Suburb | Median profit | Median holding period (years) |
| Crace | $879,500 | 8.74 |
| Forde | $526,100 | 8.78 |
| Kambah | $413,000 | 5.64 |
| Casey | $396,750 | 7.98 |
| Ngunnawal | $393,500 | 6.68 |
| Palmerston | $386,000 | 8.19 |
| Macgregor | $371,050 | 6.08 |
| Dunlop | $359,000 | 5.51 |
| Chifley | $342,500 | 4.33 |
| Bonner | $309,000 | 4.64 |
Comparatively, Canberra’s property profits are slightly smaller than in Melbourne or Sydney, but Mr Ryan says the city is nonetheless still seeing exceptional price gains.
“The top suburbs in Canberra have a little bit less profits than Sydney, particularly in the northern beaches and eastern suburbs, and the inner south in Melbourne,” he says.
“But that’s notwithstanding these profits. Sitting with $300,000 to $400,000 profit by sellers is very strong.”
For property owners looking to sell shortly, Mr Ryan says he expects this substantial profit margin to stick around for a while longer.
“We’ve seen a strong amount of listings this year and this data shows why. A lot of sellers have recently received exceptional price growth in the past couple of years and have unlocked enough equity to buy other properties,” he explains.
“Seeing prices fall across the majority of the country is not going to erode these strong profits. The forecast nationally is a fall of two to five per cent, which will make a small dent in these numbers but nothing significant.
“Anyone selling during the rest of this year will enjoy strong profits given how much prices have risen over the past couple of years.”
It’s an interesting time for home buyers in the current property market with prices slowly creeping backwards at a snail’s pace and, on average, more stock to choose from. Mr Ryan says this is particularly true in Canberra.
“For upgrade buyers, this data shows the profits sellers are making is equity people can put into a new home. Those buyers are in a great position and can turn the capital growth into a bigger home or a different location,” he says.
“For first home buyers, it’s a mixed bag. With interest rates increasing they can’t borrow as much as before but are limited by saving a 20 per cent deposit. But prices are not rising and are going backwards, making the challenge a little easier.”
Mr Ryan says the overall analysis of the data proves commentary around sellers buying their homes during the pandemic to make a quick buck is not the case.
“It tends to be people who have held their homes for six, seven, or eight years and have now put themselves in a position to get equity and upgrade.”
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