6.8% of Melbourne resales made a loss: CoreLogic Pain & Gain
Over the March quarter, the portion of loss making resales across Melbourne was 6.8 per cent, according to CoreLogic's Pain and Gain March Quarter 2020 report.
This is up from 6.3 per cent in the December quarter, and down 20 basis points from 7.0 per cent in the March 2019 quarter. The portion of loss making sales among units was higher than houses, at 15.5 per cent. The portion of loss making sales in the house segment was just 2.7 per cent.
Source: CoreLogic Pain and Gain March Quarter 2020 report.
The highest incidence of loss making sales, as has been a trend for the past few quarters, were concentrated across the Melbourne LGA region. 33.6 per cent of resales saw a loss, and the median value of losses in the region was approximately $44,500. There were approximately 120 loss making sales observed across the Melbourne council region. All of these were units, and 68.6 per cent of these were owned by investors.
For Melbourne and parts of Victoria, the recent rise in coronavirus cases presents ongoing risk to housing market demand. Government lockdowns have been a key determinant of economic performance since the onset of the pandemic. With dwelling value declines already being led by the Melbourne market, which saw dwelling value declines of 2.3 per cent in the June quarter, it is highly likely that there will be an increase in the portion of loss making sales in the metropolitan area over the coming months.
But despite the increase in the rate of loss making resales in Melbourne, 716 loss making sales were observed over the March quarter, compared with 904 observations over the December quarter. This reinforces a sense of stability that has been maintained in the housing market at a high level, as a result of lower transaction activity. Maintaining this stability will be dependent on the banking sector and government to extend relief of mortgage repayments, and income support, until the virus curve is once again flattened across the state.
Source: CoreLogic Pain and Gain March Quarter 2020 report.