A recent article caught our eye. It tells us that 9.8% of all properties sold over the past 3 months did so at a loss. That’s right – they sold for less than they had been purchased for. Excluding land agents fess and legal fees these losses are substantial.
| District | Percentage of total sales | Median loss |
| Auckland | 16.1 | $69,500 |
| Napier | 10.8% | $106,750 |
| Hastings | 16,6% | $76,498 |
| Whanganui | 3.0% | $98,674 |
| Wellington | 9.9% | $93,575 |
| Nelson | 8.1% | $72,500 |
| Christchurch | 4.4% | $30,000 |
| Queenstown Lakes | 2.5% | $20,000 |
| Dunedin | 8.1% | $32,500 |
| Total NZ | 9.8% | $55,000 |
Of course if 9.8% of sales are at a loss that means 90.2% were sold at a profit or at least recovers the purchase price. At this time commentators are predicting that the ratio will continue to fall in favour of loss-making – in 2021 99% of all sales were at a profit.
An interesting statistic. The length of ownership of those properties sold at a loss was 2.9 years. For those sold for a profit it was 8.5 years.