CoreLogic Pain & Gain Report - Q4 - 2019

The latest CoreLogic Pain & Gain Report released today (www.corelogic.co.nz/paingainreport) takes a deep dive into the profits and losses across property resales for the December 2019 quarter. Conducted by Economist Kelvin Davidson, the Pain & Gain results delivers a proxy for the performance of the housing market by highlighting the magnitude of profit or loss a typical seller of a home makes across the country.

In the key findings from this report (resales - 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2019), Kelvin Davidson found that:

• A renewed strength in property values across the country at the end of last year has helped to keep the ‘gain’ figures strong. About 96% of property resales in the fourth quarter of 2019 were made above the original purchase price – an improvement from 95% in Q3.
• Auckland and Christchurch both contributed to the overall improvement. Auckland’s share of profit-making resales rose to about 93% in Q4, up from 91% three months earlier. Christchurch improved from 89% to 90%. Meanwhile, Dunedin and Wellington remain buoyant, with profits seen on 99% of resales in Q4.
• Not only is it common for property resellers to get a price above what they originally paid, the scale of those profits is significant.
• Nationally, the median gain at resale in Q4 was $213,000 – up from $202,000 three months earlier. That swamped the median resale loss, which was just $25,000 in Q4.