Strategic Property Insights

Did you know the right mortgage broker can save you five or six figures over the life of your loan? The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.85% on 4 November 2026, its fifth rise this year and the highest level since 2008 (ABC). With rates this high, even a small interest-rate difference adds up fast, and so does a poorly structured loan. A strategic broker looks beyond the rate to how your loan is structured, how it will support your next property move, and how it affects

Is now the time to buy in Sydney? See the latest Sydney house prices, median values, listings, auction results and rental yields for November 2026.

Buying or selling in Melbourne? Get the November 2026 property market update with the latest house prices, median values, listings and auction results.

Welcome to the Property Planner’s Monthly Market Update, your comprehensive resource for the latest insights and trends in the property and economic landscape!

Welcome to the Property Planner’s Monthly Market Update, your comprehensive resource for the latest insights and trends in the property and economic landscape!

This article was originally published in 2021. It has been updated in September 2026 to reflect the significant changes to land tax thresholds, rates and policy that have occurred across Australian states and territories since that time. All figures in this article were correct as at 21 August 2026. Land tax is a tax imposed by all state and territory governments (except in the Northern Territory, where no land tax is imposed). The tax payable is based on the combined unimpro

Banks have some explaining to do. ASIC just dug through 204,000 home loans across eight major banks and uncovered a mess of offset account slip-ups. Offset accounts not linked. Linked to the wrong loan. Linked weeks late. All while your repayments look completely normal on the surface. Banks have already paid out more than $55 million in compensation for offset account failures over the past two years and more payouts are expected. For years we've been telling clients to keep

Welcome to the Property Planner’s Monthly Market Update, your comprehensive resource for the latest insights and trends in the property and economic landscape!

If the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes have thrown a spanner in the works of your investment plans, you're not alone. A lot of our clients have felt the same thing over the past few months. Some big assumptions about what property investing looks like have shifted, and it's completely understandable to feel like the goal posts have moved. Here's the good news. Property investing is still absolutely possible. It just requires a bit more thought and strategy

Now that the dust is starting to settle on this year’s Budget announcement, we sat down with Dave, the Managing Director of Property Planning Australia to talk through what happens next. Here's a high-level view of how we think the Budget's flow-on effects, on wealth creation, rents, prices and long-term financial behaviour, will play out: Prices will fall initially, as they already have. This is likely to prove the best time to buy. Rental stock, already at historic lows, wi

Nirakar has been named a finalist for the Finance Brokers Association of Australia's "Victoria's Smartest Broker" Award!

If you own a home in Australia prior to the 12th of May, Budget Night, this could be one of the most important things you read all year. The negative gearing and capital gains tax legislation became law on 26 June 2026. Buried within it is an opportunity that most homeowners have not yet fully grasped, and one that the team at propertyplanning.com.au believes deserves considerably more attention than it is currently receiving. What the negative gearing and capital gains tax l

Welcome to the Property Planner’s Monthly Market Update, your comprehensive resource for the latest insights and trends in the property and economic landscape!

Since February 2026, the RBA has lifted rates three times (a combined increase of 0.75%). On a $740,000 mortgage (roughly the size of the average new home loan), that's an extra $5,550 in interest per year or around $462 more coming out of your pocket every month. On a $1 million loan, that jumps to $7,500 per year or $625 a month! That's real money leaving household cash flow. But there are concrete steps borrowers can take to reduce what they're paying to make their offset

Welcome to the Property Planner’s Monthly Market Update, your comprehensive resource for the latest insights and trends in the property and economic landscape!

Last night, our team attended the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia Awards, where Property Planning Australia was proud to be named a finalist for Best Finance Broker Business VIC/TAS.

The 2026 Federal Budget proposes the biggest changes to property taxation in a generation. Some of the proposed reforms are significant, while others have been overstated. But the strategic implications differ depending on whether you're buying your first home, growing an investment portfolio, or renting. Whether these changes survive in their current form is an open question. But the proposals are on the table, and they're already changing the way buyers, investors and rente

In March 2021, the Ardern-led New Zealand government made headlines when it announced the removal of negative gearing for residential investment properties. At the time, it felt like a significant policy shift, a policy experiment that we were watching closely ...

Sarah completed Coastrek’s 30km walk in honour of Jack, helping raise funds for Beyond Blue.

Welcome to the Property Planner’s Monthly Market Update, your comprehensive resource for the latest insights and trends in the property and economic landscape!