Canberra Property Cost Calculator
Estimate the indicative cash commitment involved in purchasing, financing, holding, improving and eventually selling an ACT residential property.
The calculation is a nominal cash-flow scenario, not a valuation, investment return forecast or tax calculation. Entries remain in your browser and are not submitted to Northbourne Valuers.
1. Purchase
For a standard arm's-length purchase, the purchase price will commonly be used. A transfer, gift or other non-arm's-length transaction may require a different dutiable value.
The calculator does not determine eligibility. Check the ACT Revenue Office requirements before selecting this option.
2. Finance and ownership period
Applied to rates, land tax and the recurring annual costs entered below. The mortgage rate is assumed to remain unchanged.
Use the AUV shown on the ACT rates notice. It is not the market value of the land or the improved property.
Use the residential component AUV for the complex and the unit entitlement percentage shown on the relevant records or notice.
The 2026-27 estimate includes the applicable residential fixed charge, $458 Police, Fire and Emergency Services Levy and $70 Safer Families Levy.
Only include land tax where the property is liable. Exemptions and quarterly circumstances are not assessed by this calculator.
For units, avoid separately including building insurance if it is already included in body corporate levies.
Rental income is shown before income tax and does not include depreciation or tax deductions.
3. Planned construction or works
Enter a current builder's quotation, quantity surveyor's estimate or your own total allowance. Confirm whether the amount includes GST and all associated works.
Do not select this option where the supplied rate and allowances already include GST.
Any financed works amount is assumed to be advanced at purchase and repaid on the same mortgage terms. This is a simplifying assumption, not a construction-finance model.
4. Eventual sale
CGT and other tax consequences are not calculated. Enter an amount only where an appropriately qualified adviser has provided an estimate.
Indicative result
View detailed breakdown
How the calculation works
The calculator treats the deposit, acquisition costs, principal-and-interest mortgage payments, recurring holding costs and cash-funded works as cash contributed during ownership. Optional net rental income reduces that cash contribution. At sale, it deducts sale transaction costs, any manual tax adjustment and the remaining mortgage.
The break-even sale price is the nominal sale price at which those cash flows approximately net to zero after allowing for the entered commission. It does not discount future cash flows to present value and does not measure accounting profit, taxable profit or investment return.
Important limitations and data basis
This tool provides a general indicative scenario only. It is not financial, taxation, legal, lending, building, insurance, quantity surveying or valuation advice. Actual costs and liabilities depend on the property, transaction, finance structure, ownership circumstances and applicable law. Obtain independent advice before acting.
Duty rates are based on ACT non-commercial conveyance-duty settings applying from 1 July 2025. The $0 Home Buyer Concession option reflects the scheme applying to eligible transactions from 1 July 2026. General rates and land-tax settings are based on 2026-27 ACT Revenue Office information. Government settings may change.
The mortgage is modelled as a principal-and-interest loan at a constant rate. Recurring costs and any rent are escalated using the percentages entered. Works costs are user-supplied and are not a Northbourne Valuers construction-cost assessment. Tax deductions, depreciation, opportunity cost, inflation in property values and the time value of money are not modelled.
Official sources: ACT conveyance duty; Home Buyer Concession Scheme; ACT general rates; ACT land tax.
Last reviewed: 9 August 2026.