Source: Cotality
New Zealand property owners are realising the lowest rate of resale profits in more than 10 years, as subdued values and elevated stock levels continue to give buyers the upper hand.
Cotality NZ’s latest Pain & Gain Report shows 89.4% of properties resold for more than their original purchase price in the June 2025 quarter, down from 90.7% in the March quarter and the lowest rate since mid-2014.
The Pain & Gain Report analyses homes resold during the quarter, comparing the most recent sale price to the property’s previous sale price, determining whether the sale made a gross profit (gain) or a gross loss (pain).
Cotality NZ’s July Home Value Index (HVI) showed national property values remain more than 16% below their post-COVID peak, despite more recent signs of stabilisation.
Cotality NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said while the resale performance of property had softened in recent years, most vendors were still achieving a gain.
“Nearly nine out of 10 resellers are still making a gross profit, which in many cases is a substantial amount of money,” Mr Davidson said.
“However, the results reflect the fact that values are still well down from the peak in many areas and buyers with finance approved continue to hold most of the pricing power.”
The national median resale gain in Q2 2025 was $279,000, well below the late-2021 peak of $440,000, but still above anything seen prior to late 2020. The median loss was $52,500.
Hold periods a key factor
The length of time a property is owned before resale remains one of the strongest indicators of whether it will sell for a profit or a loss, with the current market conditions amplifying that effect, Mr Davidson said.
As a critical driver of resale outcomes, he said longer hold periods generally allow values to appreciate enough to smooth out any cyclical downturns.
“In the June quarter, the median hold period for a gain was 9.4 years, which is the longest in our data since the mid-1990s. For a loss, it was just 3.5 years,” he said.
“That’s particularly relevant now, because 3.5 years ago was effectively the market peak when prices were very high and interest rates were already climbing. For some of the buyers at that time, any unforeseen change in circumstances since, such as a job loss, could have resulted in a forced sale at a lower price than expected.”
Houses outperform apartments
Standalone houses continued to outperform apartments, though both sectors softened. In Q2 2025, 9.8% of houses resold at a loss, compared with 33.8% of apartments.
“This should not be interpreted as a sign of collapse in the apartment sector, however. The tendency for apartments to see less price growth over time always means they’re a greater chance to see gross losses, especially if resold into a weak market,” he said.
Median resale gains for houses were $276,000, while for apartments the figure was $110,750. Median losses were broadly similar at $50,000 for houses and $55,000 for apartments.
The share of owner-occupier resales made at a loss was 10.1%, similar for investors (10.7%), with no evidence of investors exiting the market at fire-sale prices.
“Recent tax changes, together with lower mortgage rates, have eased the pressure on landlords, and the data doesn’t point to any large-scale sell-off,” Mr Davidson said.
Main centres
Christchurch was the most resilient of the main centres, with 4.9% of Q2 resales made at a loss, well below the national figure of 10.6%. At the other end of the spectrum for the main centres, Auckland recorded the highest proportion of loss-making sales at 15.9%, followed by Tauranga (13.2%) and Wellington (11.9%).
Median resale gains in dollar terms told a different story. Tauranga recorded the highest nominal resale value at $373,500, ahead of Auckland ($350,000) and Wellington ($340,000), while Christchurch had the lowest among the main centres at $263,500.
Mr Davidson said the apparent contradiction between resilience and dollar gains reflected different market dynamics.
“In Christchurch, prices didn’t climb to the same heights as Auckland or Wellington during the boom, so there’s been less distance to fall, and fewer owners pushed into a loss-making position,” he said.
“The flip side is that because the market has generally been more affordable, the resale gains tend to be smaller in dollar terms.”
“In Auckland, you’ve got higher-value properties generating bigger absolute gains for those who bought before the peak, but you’ve also got more recent purchasers who paid top prices and are now more exposed to selling at a loss.”
Regional insights
Outside the main centres, resale performance varied widely. Queenstown continued to stand out, with its share of loss-making sales edging up slightly to 3.6% but delivering median gains of $565,500.
Mr Davidson said this aligned with the area’s HVI results, which shows values in the region are only 6.6% below their peak with no sustained weakness despite national price falls over the past three years.
“Queenstown’s unique mix of limited supply, strong domestic and international demand, and high-end property has underpinned its resilience,” he said.
“Even when volumes slow, sellers in these markets are rarely forced to sell at a discount and buyers are often prepared to pay a premium for the lifestyle and location.”
Rotorua also recorded strong resale gains at $310,000, while other areas saw greater signs of strain. Kaipara (17.9% of sales at a loss) and Rangitīkei (20.0%) were among the smaller districts with the highest proportions of loss-making resales, possibly reflecting localised market pressures.
Outlook
Mr Davidson said the Pain & Gain results for the rest of the year would be closely aligned to the movements in property values, adding that migration tr
