How this property investor made $500k in just five years

The home at 5 Cullen Bay Cres, Cullen Bay. Picture: realestate.com.au

Darwin local Mitch Ward made a $500,000 profit by buying a Cullen Bay home while the market was stagnant and selling as home values and constructions cost were on the rise.

The 29-year-old bought a five-bedroom, dual-living home at 5 Cullen Bay Cres, Cullen Bay for $890,000 in January 2020.

“For that price, I couldn’t pass it up,” he said.

“It was a five bedroom, four bathroom, six-car garage home perched on top of a hill in Darwin’s most superior suburb.”

Mr Ward was 23 when he bought the property and working in the oil and gas industry.

“It was on my mind to flip the property and invest in the US share market, but I held on to it to collect rental income,” he said.

“I made a total renal income of $1200 per week while also living at the property.”

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Darwin property investor Mitch Ward. Picture: Supplied

Mr Ward decided to test the market in 2023, and listed the home see what sale price the it could achieve.

“I never really wanted to sell, so I put a larger than market value on the property and I figured if it sold, it sold,” he said.

“Credit to my agent, Rick Trippe, as he was the only one to agree to the sale price and listed it for nearly two years.

“Someone ended up offering me around about what I wanted, so I decided to sell.”

The property sold for $1.4m in December 2024.

Mr Ward said he still saw good value in Darwin’s prestige property market.

“You could say the market is undervalued due to high cost of building a new property at the moment,” he said.

“I think you also get bigger gains from high end property.

“If you’re buying around $500,000 you might sell for $650,000, but if you’re buying around the $1m – $2m price point, you might sell for $2.5m – $3m.”

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