Up to a third of homes in parts of Melbourne and Sydney are being sold at a loss with the rate likely to climb higher as a combination of falling prices and owners wanting to offload their properties is wiping hundreds of millions of dollars from the market.

Loss-making sales hit a six-year high in the March quarter with almost 32 per cent of dwellings in central Melbourne being sold below their purchase price with a median loss of $44,000. A year ago the loss-making rate was under 28 per cent.

Almost one in five Melbourne apartments is being sold at a loss as falling prices and cash-strapped buyers squeeze the national market. Credit:Angela Wylie

It's not just the city centre where owners are selling at a loss. Through the eastern suburbs, the loss-rate has doubled to 12 per cent or more in Glen Eira and Boroondara, and reached 24 per cent in Stonnington.

Parts of Sydney have been particularly hard hit. In the March quarter last year, just 1.3 per cent of properties in Strathfield were sold at a loss but this hit 20 per cent during the first 3 months of 2019.