Markets

Buying and renting a home in Australia

Coverage: Tier 3: guide and links to local portals
Prices in: AUD
Floor area in: square metres

Each fact below links to the official page it comes from. We have not finished testing this market yet, so confirm anything important with the source or a local lawyer.

Homes in Australia are listed on

Homejourney does not list homes in Australia yet. Prices on these sites are in AUD.

Who may buy

A foreign investor generally has to notify the Australian Taxation Office before buying residential land, whatever its value.
Source: Foreign Investment in Australia (Australian Treasury) (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026
From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign investors are generally barred from buying established homes, with limited exceptions.
Source: Foreign Investment in Australia (Australian Treasury) (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026
Government policy steers foreign investment into new homes, and a new or near-new home bought by a foreign investor is not usually subject to conditions on its use.
Source: Foreign Investment in Australia (Australian Treasury) (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026

Purchase taxes

In New South Wales, a foreign person buying a home pays surcharge purchaser duty of 9% of its dutiable value on top of transfer duty.
Source: Revenue NSW (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026
In Victoria, foreign purchaser additional duty is 8% for contracts made on or after 1 July 2019.
Source: State Revenue Office Victoria (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026

Loan limits

Every APRA-regulated bank must check that a new borrower could still repay at an interest rate at least 3 percentage points above the loan rate.
Source: Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026

Renting

In New South Wales a rental bond can be at most 4 weeks’ rent. It is paid through Rental Bonds Online, and NSW Fair Trading issues the receipt.
Source: NSW Government (opens in a new tab) · Checked 11 November 2026