The WA suburbs where property sellers are making the biggest profits

Five West Australian local governments have been listed in the top 10 nationally for total profits made when selling a home, with sellers benefiting from strong population growth, tight housing supply and sustained buyer demand.

Cotality’s latest Pain & Gain report, released on Thursday, analysed more than 100,000 resales across the March quarter, finding 96 per cent of residential property resales delivered a nominal profit nationally over that timeframe – the strongest result since 2005.

The median gain increased to a record $377,000, while the median loss remained unchanged at $45,000.

In Perth, 98.8 per cent of all sales were at a profit – or a median of $475,000 – substantially higher than the national figure.

The highest median nominal gains were recorded in the local government areas of Melville, Joondalup, Nedlands, East Fremantle and, the only regional area from WA on the list, Chittering.

WA has represented a far larger share of the top ten list than previous quarters, reflecting the rapid growth in dwelling values in Perth recently, according to the report.

Multiple local government areas in Perth also achieved an 100 per cent profit rate – meaning no houses sold during the quarter were done so at a loss.

While resale profitability hit a record high, those who sold for a loss were more likely to be recent purchasers.

Perth also recorded the highest quarterly change in dwelling values nationally at 6.8 per cent.

Cotality Head of Research Gerard Burg said many of the strongest-performing markets had experienced sustained demand over several years.

“The regions recording the largest resale gains today are generally the same markets that experienced some of the strongest housing value growth through the pandemic and post-pandemic period,” he said.

“Places such as Noosa, a number of Western Australian markets and the Byron Shire in Northern NSW have seen demand consistently outpace supply, and those conditions have translated into substantial wealth gains for homeowners.”

Burg said despite signs of slowing momentum across parts of the housing market, sellers were still benefiting from growth built over many years.

“Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have all benefited from strong population growth, tight housing supply and sustained buyer demand,” he said.

“Many owners who bought before the recent upswing, during a period of affordability and low interest rates, are now selling into a market where values have risen substantially, translating into some very significant resale gains.

“Housing values continued to rise through most of 2025, and many sellers have benefited from holding their property through multiple growth cycles, which has allowed them to build significant equity over time.”