Key takeaways
Australian homeowners are experiencing record resale profits, with over 97% of house sales delivering gains across the country.
Strong capital growth and longer holding periods are allowing owners to build substantial equity over multiple property cycles.
This accumulated wealth is fuelling upgrades and intergenerational transfers, helping sustain ongoing demand in the market.
Growth is widespread across all price points, with middle-ring suburbs and affordable markets also delivering strong returns.
The downside is a widening gap, as rising equity makes it harder for first-home buyers to enter without family support.
It’s not often we see a statistic that tells such a clear story about wealth creation.
But right now Australia’s property market is doing exactly that - quietly delivering record profits to homeowners across the country and reshaping the financial landscape in the process.
For the first time in 15 years, over 90% of house resales in every capital city have turned a profit, according to Domain’s latest Profit and Loss Report.
These persistent and widespread gains are driving a wave of upgrades and intergenerational wealth transfers, in turn sustaining strong demand and price growth in the property market.
According to Domain, this accumulated wealth is acting as a financial shield for a significant proportion of the population, while first-home buyers and recent entrants to the market continue to face affordability hurdles and interest rate uncertainty.
Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics, Dr Nicola Powell, said:
“The extraordinary capital growth in Australia’s property market is moving into homeowners’ pockets at unprecedented levels as more households turn a profit.
As homeowners stay put for longer, they are seeing their equity build up over multiple price cycles.
This widespread profitability has given many Australians a strong financial safety net and access to continue to ‘climb the ladder’, while providing a buffer against pressures such as rising interest rates and inflation.
However, the sheer size of these profits is creating a wider gap between established owners and those attempting to enter the market, making it increasingly difficult for younger Australians to buy property without the support of intergenerational wealth.
With record median profits in many of our cities and regions, the barrier to entry is increasingly defined by existing family equity, rather than individual savings alone.”
Key findings from the report:
Record gains are widespread:
- In the second half of 2025, 97.5% of house resales and 88.3% of unit resales across Australia delivered a profit.
- Record median profits were seen for Sydney houses ($750,000); Brisbane houses ($580,000) and units ($325,000); Adelaide houses ($539,500) and units ($290,000); Perth houses ($528,000) and units ($226,050) (Tables 1 and 2).
Table 1. Profit and loss for house resales – H2 2025
| Profit | Loss | |||||
| % resales | Median Profit | Annual change in profit | % resales | Median loss | Annual change in loss | |
| Australia | 97.5% | $440,000 | 14.9% | 2.5% | -$75,000 | 25.0% |
| Combined capitals | 97.6% | $530,000 | 14.7% | 2.4% | -$85,000 | 41.7% |
| Combined regionals | 97.3% | $330,000 | 15.8% | 2.7% | -$60,000 | 20.0% |
| Sydney | 97.9% | $750,000 | 11.1% | 2.1% | -$191,500 | 74.1% |
| Melbourne | 95.9% | $390,000 | 1.6% | 4.1% | -$55,000 | 10.0% |
| Brisbane | 99.5% | $580,000 | 22.9% | 0.5% | -$278,100 | 363.5% |
| Adelaide | 98.2% | $539,500 | 15.5% | 1.8% | -$215,000 | 34.4% |
| Perth | 99.5% | $528,000 | 25.7% | 0.5% | -$300,000 | 130.8% |
| Canberra | 93.1% | $370,000 | 3.0% | 6.9% | -$68,500 | 14.2% |
| Hobart | 94.3% | $330,000 | 4.8% | 5.7% | -$40,000 | -23.8% |
| Darwin | 94.9% | $201,000 | 14.9% | 5.1% | -$34,500 | -23.3% |
Table 2. Profit and loss for unit resales – H2 2025
| Profit | Loss | |||||
| % resales | Median Profit | Annual change in profit | % resales | Median loss | Annual change in loss | |
| Australia | 88.3% | $228,000 | 20.6% | 11.7% | -$50,000 | 5.3% |
| Combined capitals | 86.2% | $215,000 | 19.4% | 13.8% | -$50,000 | 8.8% |
| Combined regionals | 95.8% | $260,000 | 20.9% | 4.2% | -$69,000 | 15.0% |
| Sydney | 87.2% | $216,288 | 3.0% | 12.8% | -$52,000 | 6.0% |
| Melbourne | 75.4% | $122,000 | -2.4% | 24.6% | -$46,829 | 4.1% |
| Brisbane | 99.1% | $325,000 | 52.9% | 0.9% | -$205,084 | 310.2% |
| Adelaide | 96.6% | $290,000 | 20.8% | 3.4% | -$255,000 | 286.4% |
| Perth | 96.8% | $226,050 | 51.1% | 3.2% | -$100,500 | 139.3% |
| Canberra | 87.4% | $106,100 | -7.8% | 12.6% | -$33,000 | -26.7% |
| Hobart | 95.8% | $203,500 | 7.7% | 4.2% | -$67,500 | 150.0% |
| Darwin | 72.0% | $78,500 | 20.8% | 28.0% | -$45,000 | -33.8% |
The rising middle market:
- Profitability is not confined to prestige areas; many established, family-oriented suburban middle-ring markets recorded near-universal gains, demonstrating the market’s strong growth at every price point.
Sydney leads in equity levels:
- Sydney’s annual median profits rose by 11.1%, and the city holds the largest levels of housing equity due to higher price points and longer holding periods. In high-value markets like the Eastern Suburbs, the median house resale profit reached a massive $2.77 million.
Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide lead in wealth expansion:
- Brisbane and Perth recorded the highest proportion of profit-making house resales (99.5%). The annual change in median profits was also up by 22.9% in Brisbane and 25.7% in Perth, the highest changes nationally (Table 1).
- Adelaide followed closely, with 98.2% of house resales making a profit and median profits up 15.5% annually.
- The record high profits across Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth reflect the steady growth and equity accumulation seen in these cities since 2021, supported by strong migration flows and constrained supply.
Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin cool:
- While still recording high levels of profitable resales, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin’s profit shares were lower compared to other capitals, and median profits in these cities were lower relative to four years ago.
- Canberra was the only capital city to record an annual decline in the share of profit-making resales, reflecting softer price growth.
End note:
While these record profits highlight the power of property as a long-term wealth creation vehicle, they also underline a growing divide: one where those already in the market continue to surge ahead, while aspiring buyers face an increasingly steep climb.
The lesson here isn’t about timing the market, but about time in the market, strategic ownership, and the role of property as a cornerstone of intergenerational wealth.
And as always, those who understand these dynamics, and act on them, will be the ones best positioned for the next phase of the cycle.
