How to find a property’s past sale history
Do you want to find out the previous sale details of a property? Here’s how to get all the property history information you need online.
Key takeaways
- Quickly find recent sales history using popular property listing websites and their 'Sold' sections.
- State government land offices and public archives offer official and historic property sales records for a fee.
- Use past sales to identify value trends, frequent resales or decreasing prices as important indicators.
You can find out how many times it has been sold and how much it has been sold for.
Why would you want to do that? Well, if you're not a budding property history searching enthusiast, it can help you make a more informed decision about the property you're looking at.
If you see it's been sold 10 times in the last 2 years, probably not a good sign. If you see it's been selling for less and less each time, also not a good sign.
If the property hasn't been sold in a while though, it can take a little bit of time to find the information. Hopefully we can help though.
1. Property listing sites
Property listing sites are not only great for finding current listings but they also list sold properties, which can help you find a property's past sales history. If you're looking for a recent property sale this is probably your best bet. If the property you're looking at hasn't been sold in a long time you might need to jump to one of the other options.
For most of the sites below, look under their Sold sections.
- Domain. Research millions of properties across Australia, including recent sales, suburb level market trends and auction results.
- Realestate.com.au. Find property sales histories, market trends and suburb profiles. The website also has a useful insights tool for investors.
- Onthehouse.com.au. You can view property history for each listed property, although you need to sign up to get detailed information.
- All homes. This property listing site also lets you search past sales by suburb, street and address although the information is fairly limited.
- Pricefinder. This property data tool offers past property sales, valuations and a whole lot more. You have to pay but there is a free trial available.
Expert insight
"When you're diving into a property's past sales history, you're not just looking at numbers; you're uncovering a piece of its story, and that can be pure gold for making savvy decisions. Knowing what a property sold for previously, how often it's changed hands, and even how the area has performed overall gives you a real edge, especially if you're serious about building a property portfolio or making a smart buy for your own home. Take the time to dig into the details-it's one of the best ways to sort your property out and build your future with a solid foundation."
2. Government sites and public records offices
State and territory governments have offices that record property sales, titles and other data. You usually have to pay a small fee for this information, so you want to be serious about getting the information. Here are some sites below:
- Victoria: LandData.
- NSW: NSW Valuer General's office.
- Queensland: Property and Land Valuations.
- South Australia: South Australian Integrated Land Information system (SAILIS).
- Western Australia: Landgate.
- Tasmania: Land Information System Tasmania (LIST).
- Northern Territory: Land and development information (sales data may not be available).
3. Public records offices and archives
Public records offices and state archives are useful for obtaining historic information on older properties:
- VIC: Public Records Office Victoria has a helpful online portal.
- NSW: The NSW Lands Registry's Historical Land Records Viewer lets you search historic housing data. There's also the State Archives and Records office.
- QLD: The Queensland State Archives has a range of historic data on property and other topics.
- SA: State Records of South Australia.
- WA: State Records Office of Western Australia.
- TAS: Libraries Tasmania maintains an archive and heritage portal.
- NT: Northern Territories Archives Service.
- National: There's also the Canberra-based National Archives of Australia.
Other helpful property data
Researching a property’s sale history on the websites listed above can also generate a wide range of other useful information, including:
- The property’s rental history. Some real estate listing websites allow you to access data on when the property has previously been leased and the value of the rent.
- Full property reports. Many listings sites, banks and other companies offer free property reports that list comparable sales in the same area, price estimations and sales history. Reports often come in PDF form and can be emailed to you, providing a quick and convenient source of information. Domain, Realestate.com.au and ANZ all offer detailed, free property reports.
- Price estimates. Many property websites offer an estimate of the property’s current value to give you an idea of whether the asking price is fair. However, remember that these prices are estimates and should be used as rough guides only.
- ABS data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has many publicly available data sets that deal with housing, mortgages and other topics at a broad, nationwide level. Some of this may be helpful in your property research.
More helpful guides and information on property data
If you need more help with your property sales history search and other property research, try some of these helpful guides.
- Historic mortgage interest rates
- Compare some of the cheapest home loan rates on Finder
- How to research the property market
- In-depth home buying guide
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Can you tell me the price that 12 Phoenix Ave Concord West Sydney sold for between the year 2000 and 2015
Hi David,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
I’m afraid we don’t have a record of the sales history for 12 Phoenix Ave Concord West Sydney. The article above says, you may visit Realestate.com.au to find property sales histories, market trends and suburb profiles. You may further review this page to know more about their sale history and how the website does the computation.
Hope this helps.
Please feel free to contact us at any time if any other questions arise.
Cheers,
Faye
When was 8090 Selma last sold?
Hi Joan,
Thanks for reaching out! We don’t have records of the times where properties are sold. It would be best to speak with brokers in you state to obtain information of listings.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Nikki