Brisbane remains top Australian city to sell a house despite a cooling market

Brisbane remains the best place to make a buck reselling property despite a declining market, with sales in the city returning the highest profit of any capital in the June quarter.

The city has held that title for two years, with sellers pocketing a median profit of $525,000. This is $154,000 above the national median gain but down $5000 from the March quarter, according to new data from property research firm Cotality.

The report found sellers in Brisbane were almost ensured to turn a profit, with 99.7 per cent of people selling houses and 99.1 per cent of those selling units getting more than they bought them for.

While the nation’s property market has fallen off record highs, Cotality’s head of research Gerard Burg said property owners looking to sell were still well-placed.

“Profitability is still exceptionally high by historical standards, but we are starting to see the impact of weaker housing market conditions flow through to resale outcomes,” Burg said.

However, he said sellers looking to flip houses and units they bought recently could have trouble making a profit, with the best profits in Brisbane for the quarter made by people who had owned their houses for nine years.

Things were tougher in the southern capitals, but still healthy, with 95.4 per cent of the 94,000 sales analysed turning a profit nationally.

In Melbourne, 89 per cent of sales were for a profit, with a median gain of $278,000.

In Sydney 92.7 per cent made a profit, with a median gain of $404,000.

Meanwhile, research conducted by Frank Knight highlighted Brisbane’s emerging luxury housing market, pointing to the city’s “more permissive” planning scheme compared to Sydney and Melbourne, and the upcoming spotlight of the Olympics.

“Investment is spilling into hospitality, retail and residential property, underpinning the city’s emergence as one of Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing luxury markets,” the report said.

The report’s authors said Brisbane’s luxury real estate market had grown by 2.6 per cent in the year to June 2026, while Sydney and Melbourne’s had shrunk by roughly the same amount, signifying a shift to the city by wealthy people chasing high-amenity homes.

However, those homes still cost significantly more in Sydney in Melbourne.

Luxury apartments in Sydney cost $74,500 per square meter compared to $29,000 in Brisbane and $33,000 in Melbourne.

The report also noted the Gold Coast’s 34.7 per cent market growth over the past five years, placing it in the top 10 globally.

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