Housing market Australia: Most profitable areas to own property revealed by Domain

Australian homeowners are pocketing record profits from the property boom, with sellers in some of the nation’s hottest pockets making millions.

New Domain data reveals 97.4 per cent of houses sold nationally in the first half of 2026 made a profit

Sydney dominates the list of Australia’s most lucrative housing markets, but homeonwers in Brisbane and Perth are also enjoying seven-figure gains.

Domain’s latest Profit and Loss report shows Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs-North tops the country, with houses resold for a medium profit of $2.78 million.

Manly followed at $2.15 million, Chatswood-Lane Cove at $1.9 million, Ku-ring-gai at $1.9 million and North Sydney-Mosman at $1.76m

Outside of Sydney, Cottesloe-Claremont was Perth’s biggest goldmine with a median $1.4 million profit, while Brisbane’s Inner recorded $1.1 million and Melbourne’s Boroondara hit $1 million.

Adelaide’s most lucrative area was Burnside where house sellers made a media $947,500.

Domain said the biggest gains remained concentrated in markets with high entry prices, strong underlying demand and longer holding periods.

As the median gain on an Australian house hit a record $458,00, Domain’s Chief Residential Economist Dr. Nicola Powell told The Nightly most sales are still making sellers a profit.

“The vast majority of transactions that are occurring are giving a profit to the owner, whether that’s an owner occupier or whether that’s an investor,” she said.

“This reflects capturing strong rates of price growth. If you compare now to five years ago, prices are significantly higher.

“It also reflects an increasing tenure, which means we are ultimately staying put in our homes for longer periods of time. And if you stay longer, it means that you have got a greater chance of riding the waves of a few price cycles.”

Sydney recorded the biggest median house gain of any capital at $739,500, but Perth the highest proportion of winners, with 99.6 per cent of house resales generating a median profit of $610,000,

“For Perth especially, this marks a huge change. When you think about Perth in the 2010s it really under performed, so this is Perth now in its heyday, where its really resulted in life-changing amounts of profitability for homeowners,” Dr Powell continued.

Unit sellers also made a record median $237,000 profit in the first half of the year.

Regional homeowners are also cashing in. Broadbeach-Burleigh topped regional Australia with a median house profit of $1.13 million, followed by Surfers Paradise at 1.1 milliom.

The Augusta, Margaret River and Busselton area led regional WA at $760,500, while Tweed Valley topped regional NSW at $680,000

Dr Powell said more people are choosing regional areas for the lifestyle.

“Regional markers are liveability areas on steroids. People are prioritising affordability and liveability — particular in small coastal towns — above apartments and units in places like Melbourne and Sydney where the lifestyle is a lot more fast paced.”

However, Domain did warn Australia’s property profitability boom is beginning to show its “first cracks”, with the proportion of profitable houses slipping slightly compared to the second half of 2025.

Dr Powell said the movement was small but significant because resale profitability tends to lag changes in house prices.

“House resale profitability did pull back, it’s a small shift but actually its the type of change that people should take note of because profitability is a lagging indicator and tends to follow changes in house prices,” she told The Nightly..”