The average time people hold a residential property has increased since the mid-2000s, according to RP Data.
The current average hold period for a house is 9 years, and 7.7 years for a unit, according to RP Data. This is compared to 8.5 years for houses, and 7.4 years for units, this time last year.
Cameron Kusher, RP Data research analyst, says the increase in hold periods is due to the decline in housing affordability and the high costs associated with buying and selling residential properties.
“The average hold period for houses and units was fairly static until late 2005 and actually began to decline during the 2001-04 property boom, however, it has since consistently increased,” Kusher says.
Over the past 12 months Melbourne houses and units recorded the longest average hold period for a capital city market, at 10.4 years and 8.3 years respectively. Sydney followed with a hold period of 9.8 years for houses and 7.8 years for units.
“The trend towards longer tenure is apparent across each capital city market – all of which are showing an increase in the average hold period of both houses and units over the past year. Currently, the average hold period across each capital is much higher than it was five years ago and substantially higher than they were in 2000,” Kusher says.
