A practical guide to Australian property: what a purchase actually costs, how it is taxed, and whether the numbers stack up. Stamp duty, LMI, land tax and gearing worked through with real figures — no spruiking and no hunches.
Every major capital rolled over after the May 2026 tax changes. Port Augusta — 30 homes for sale, 29 rentals, 550 interested buyers and a 1.3 GW AI factory coming — went the other way.
Read the article →Official references: RBA cash rate target and ABS lending indicators. Updated .
Cotality, SQM and realestate.com.au data on the post-Budget downturn — and the regional market where 550 buyers are chasing 32 houses.
A plain-English walk through the reforms, the deduction rules as they now stand, and a worked example on a real investment property.
The easy path to wealth assumed capital growth outran holding costs. On today’s yields and rates, that sum does not always land where people think.
Every cost between “offer accepted” and “keys in hand”, state by state — and how much of it you cannot finance.
Limited recourse borrowing, the sole purpose test, and the running costs that decide whether this is worth doing at all.
A spreadsheet that models rent, rates, strata, interest and depreciation against your marginal rate — before you sign anything.
Thresholds, surcharges and trust rules across each state and territory — and why a second property changes the maths.
Purchase price is the smallest decision you will make. Stamp duty, LMI, conveyancing and ongoing holding costs decide whether the property works.
Gearing, depreciation, land tax and CGT all move the return. Know the rules before you pick the structure, not after — start with the 2026 negative gearing rules.
Against shares, against paying down the mortgage, against doing nothing. Property should win on the numbers — or you should not buy it.
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.
Worked examples with real Australian figures, stamp duty and land tax included, and no product spruiking. One email when something new goes live.