Record-high property resale profits in December quarter - CoreLogic

House sellers have been smiling all the way to the bank but that is likely to change, according to a new report.

Property research company CoreLogic's latest "Pain & Gain" report showed a record 99.3 percent of properties resold in the December quarter made a profit.

The median sales gain rose $42,000 to $420,000, while median loss eased to $20,000 from $35,000.

CoreLogic chief economist Kelvin Davidson said the higher gains in a sellers' market was no surprise, and it could be expected to persist for a while even with falling prices.

"Looking ahead, it would not be a surprise to see these 'pain & gain' figures soften next quarter given that there are much clearer signs now that the property market itself has passed its peak growth phase," Davidson said.

"However, the softening for 'gain' may be gradual, given that long hold periods strongly influence the data."

The strength of the gains was across the board regardless of location and type of property.

However, Davidson noted the "profits" on sales were largely on paper.

"These resale gains are not generally cash windfalls - unless they're downsizing or moving to a cheaper location. After all, in most cases, any equity accumulated needs to be recycled straight back into the next property purchase, with 'trade ups' actually likely to involve higher debt levels in many cases too."

Wellington had the highest "gain" with a median resale profit of $593,000, while Tauranga had the highest level of gains - 99.8 percent of all sales were profit making.

Property owners were holding on to their houses just over seven years before selling.

Davidson said with clear signs that the property market had peaked and prices were likely to fall, the balance of power in the market was changing.

"We suspect that a shift in the balance of pricing power away from vendors and towards buyers is now in progress, which will dampen resale performance in 2022."