The short answer
Is now a bad time to buy or sell an investment property in Australia?
It depends on four things, and none of them is the headline: what the property is for, what it costs to hold once the 2027-28 rules apply, what a year of waiting costs, and what would have to be true for you to act. Prices have fallen for five months and rents have risen for five years; both are true, and only one is in the news. This free workshop puts the market and the fundamentals on one screen, then runs the four questions on real portfolios so you leave with a decision you can defend.
Sources on this page: Cotality Home Value Index (1 September 2026), Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment (August 2026), and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026.
General information only. We're licensed buyer's agents, not financial or tax advisers, so please check anything that affects your money with your own adviser.
Why this workshop exists
Why does this decision feel so hard right now?
Because the biggest risk in property is not the property, it is the decision. Three things we know from 550 client families:
Information is not the shortage
You have read the Budget explainers and the price headlines. What is missing is a way to weigh them against each other, on your own numbers.
Order matters more than selection
Old or new, residential or commercial, buy or sell: each is a question about purpose before it is a question about tax. Get the order right and the rest is arithmetic.
Most advice is funded by a sale
Developers fund the "buy new" advice. Agents fund the "sell now" advice. We are paid by clients only, so "wait" is an answer we give often.
The evidence
What is the market actually doing, and what has not changed?
Prices have fallen for five months. Rents have risen for five years. Both are true at the same time, and only one of them is in the headlines. Here is each list, dated and sourced.
Sources: Cotality Home Value Index, 1 September 2026 · Cotality Monthly Housing Chart Pack, 14 August 2026 · Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment, August 2026.
The outcome
What will you be able to decide by the end of the night?
Four decisions, each one you can make on your own numbers rather than on a headline.
Whether the fall in prices changes your plan or just your mood. Five months of data on one slide, dated and sourced, next to the five things that have not moved.
Whether your next property should be established or new, now that negative gearing follows new builds from 2027-28 and the CGT discount becomes indexation from 1 July 2027.
Whether your next purchase should be residential or commercial, on the same $800,000, with the numbers on screen.
Whether your answer is buy, wait or sell, using four questions you can run on any property in ten minutes. Some of you should wait, and we will say who.
What we cover
What do we cover, and in what order?
Eight segments, in this order. The market first, because that is what is worrying people, then the rules, then the two trade-offs, then the method.
We do not run to a stopwatch. The order is fixed; how long we spend on each part depends on the questions in the room, and the questions are the point.
The method
Old or new, and is your answer buy, wait or sell?
The negative gearing change is being read as "buy new". It is one line in a fifteen-year ledger, and the other lines did not change. The trade-off, then the method.
Yours to keep
What do you take home?
Four things, sent whether you attend live or watch the recording.
An honest filter
Is this workshop for you?
This is for you if
- You own one or two investment properties and someone has asked whether you should sell.
- You had a deposit or equity ready in May and have not looked at a listing since.
- You are over 40 and the window feels like it is closing.
- You want facts with dates, not a forecast.
This is not for you if
- You want a suburb tip or a "buy the dip" call. We do not forecast and we do not rate suburbs on a webinar.
- You want a tax, loan or super answer for your own situation. That is your adviser's, and we will say so.
- You want to be told to buy. If your numbers say wait, we will say wait.
What clients say
How we work, in their words
…putting the client at the centre of the process and not just selling stock to clients
…analytical mindset has been quite helpful in assessing my property
…thorough in his research work, focused on quality
From the reviews on our results page. 4.9 from 347 Google reviews across our Sydney and Melbourne offices.
Who is teaching it
Who is teaching this workshop?
Rasti Vaibhav, CFA. Founder, Get RARE Properties
A CFA Charterholder who spent more than 9 years managing institutional portfolios at Westpac and AMP Capital, Rasti has bought 22 properties with his own money over 15 years, through the GFC, the 2017 lending crackdown, COVID and thirteen rate rises. He founded Get RARE in 2019; the firm has since bought more than $300 million of property for 550+ client families, 70 to 90 per cent of it off-market, and more than 70 per cent of clients continue beyond their first purchase. He is the author of The Property Wealth Blueprint.
- No developer commissions
- No referral fees, in either direction
- Clients pay us directly, a flat fee
- We stay in our lane: no tax, finance or insurance advice
- Winner · 2025 REINSW John Greig OAM Community Award
- Finalist · 2026 REINSW Buyers Agency of the Year
- Finalist · 2026 REINSW Buyers Agent of the Year
- PIPA · REINSW · REIV · REIQ · REIA
- Licensed in NSW, VIC and QLD
No surprises
What happens after you register?
Four things, and nothing else. No sales calls, and no sequence you did not ask for.
Before you register
Questions people ask us
Is now a bad time to buy an investment property?
It depends on four things, and none of them is the headline: what the property is for, what it costs to hold once the 2027-28 rules apply, what a wait year costs, and what would have to be true for you to buy. The workshop runs those four questions on two real portfolios so you can run them on your own.
Should I sell my investment property before the CGT change?
The date is not the reason. Growth up to 30 June 2027 keeps today's treatment whenever you eventually sell, so selling to beat a deadline is rarely the point. Whether to sell is a purpose question first and a tax question second, and the tax part belongs with your adviser. We teach the method, not a verdict.
What are the 2026 investment property tax changes?
Three. Negative gearing on established homes bought after 12 May 2026 applies from the 2027-28 income year, with losses set aside against future gains rather than deducted from wages. The 50 per cent capital gains discount becomes indexation with a 30 per cent minimum rate for sales from 1 July 2027. Super funds cannot borrow to buy residential property from 10 August 2026. All three are on one slide with sources.
Is property still a good investment in Australia?
Prices have fallen for five months and rents have risen for five years. Nothing has changed about population, the dwelling shortage or the arithmetic of a long hold; the tax on a gain has changed, not whether there is a gain. The workshop puts both sides on one screen so you can answer it for your own situation rather than in general.
Is this financial or tax advice?
No. It is general information. We are licensed buyer's agents, not financial or tax advisers, so anything that affects your money should be checked with your own adviser. We will say clearly which questions belong with them.
What does the workshop cost, and what happens afterwards?
It is free. You get the recording for 72 hours and a worksheet. If you want to run the four questions on your own numbers, there is a complimentary 15-minute readiness check and then a 45-minute Strategy Call. There is no pitch beyond one minute near the end.
What if I cannot make it on the night?
Register anyway. Everyone who registers gets the recording for 72 hours and the worksheet, whether or not they attend live.
How we know
Where do these numbers come from?
Every figure on this page is published by someone else and dated, or it is our own record. The links go to the source so you can check any of it.
- Home values, sales and yields:Cotality Home Value Index, released 1 September 2026, and the Cotality Monthly Housing Chart Pack, 14 August 2026.
- Sentiment and house price expectations:Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment, surveyed 10 to 14 August 2026 and released on 18 August.
- The tax rules:Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, Royal Assent 26 June 2026, read against the Federal Register of Legislation.
- Our own figures: 550+ client families, more than $300 million bought, 70 to 90 per cent off-market, and 22 properties bought by Rasti with his own money over 15 years. These are firm records, not estimates.
Every figure is read again on the morning of the workshop and shown on screen with its date. Where a number cannot be sourced, we do not use it.