Home affairs minister Peter Dutton sells Canberra unit for $540,000

Home affairs minister Peter Dutton is back in the property game again, reportedly offloading one luxury Canberra apartment for another.

The federal politician, who has served as a member of parliament for the Queensland seat of Dickson since 2001, reportedly sold his Canberra bolt-hole in February. 

Property records show he fetched $540,000 for the luxury one-bedder at Kingston, after listing it only days before Christmas with a price guide of$559,000 plus.

In January the guide was revised to $549,000 plus. The eventual sale price of $540,000 is a $25,100 gross profit which, over the eight years since he bought it, equates to just $3137.50 per year.

Mr Dutton’s modest gains on the Kingston apartment are only a tiny percentage of the wealth that he has built through property.

He has amassed a considerable property portfolio over the years, with his total property investments estimated to be worth more than $5 million.

Among his investments include a $2.3 million beachfront weekender at Queensland’s Palm Beach, which is currently rented at $1500 per week.

His family home is a six-bedroom home on an acreage estate in the hinterland behind Brisbane. Mr Dutton purchased the two-hectare property in 2003 for $710,000.

The home affairs minister also owns a property at Spring Hill, in Brisbane, and his wife, Kirilly, purchased a retail outlet in Townsville in 2016.

The sale of Mr Dutton’s Canberra apartment prompted media speculation this week over his future career in federal parliament, but that was put to bed with confirmation from his spokespeople that he has purchased another apartment in Canberra off the plan.

Coincidentally, Mr Dutton sold his Kingston unit in the same month as his one-time rival, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, sold his own Kingston penthouse. Mr Turnbull’s waterfront penthouse sold for $2.06 million.

There are 73-units in the complex where Mr Dutton’s former Canberra residence is located. Over the past year, seven apartments have sold in the complex; a one-bedroom apartment sold a few weeks after Mr Dutton’s for $490,000.

An analysis of properties owned by politicians in Canberra shows 25 members of parliament own property in Kingston – it is the most popular suburb in the nation’s capital for federal politician ownership.

The suburb is made up predominantly of units and is just five minutes’ drive from Parliament House. Kingston’s median unit price, based on 2018 sales is $505,000.