Property investing in Australia.

It depends on the numbers for the specific property, not on property as an asset class. Compare net rent after rates, insurance, maintenance, strata and management costs with finance costs, then test your growth assumptions and the opportunity cost of other investments. We work that sum through in why residential property may no longer build wealth.

From 1 July 2027, net losses on established residential property acquired after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 cannot be deducted against unrelated income such as salary. Eligible new builds and earlier investments are exempt, and quarantined losses can generally be carried forward and used against residential property income or gains. Our line-by-line guide to the 2026 reforms runs a worked example on a real property.

Stamp duty (which varies by state and by first-home status), lenders mortgage insurance if your deposit is under 20%, conveyancing, building and pest inspections, loan establishment fees and registration costs. These can add tens of thousands of dollars to a purchase, and many of them cannot be financed.

Yes, subject to the sole purpose test and, if you are borrowing, a limited recourse borrowing arrangement. The running costs and compliance burden are what usually decide whether it stacks up. See Tax & SMSF for the structuring side.

We update figures when the relevant official release changes. Every current figure on this hub is dated and linked to its primary source.