Since budget night, every property marketer in Australia has been saying the same thing. Buy new. The tax rules favour it now.
They're not wrong about the rules. Whether you should act on it is a different question.
Why new builds won the budget
Two things. New builds keep negative gearing after 1 July 2027, while established property purchases made after 12 May 2026 lose it. And when you eventually sell, new builds get a choice between the old CGT discount method and the new indexation system. Established property doesn't get the choice.
The government's logic is straightforward. They want investor money building new supply, not bidding up existing homes.
The part the marketers skip
Tax treatment doesn't make a bad asset good. And a lot of new stock in Australia is, bluntly, not great.
High density off-the-plan apartments have a long track record of weak growth, oversupply risk in the same postcode, and quality issues that surface years later. A tax deduction on a property that grows at half the market rate is a losing trade dressed up as a strategy.
There's also a definitional trap. "New build" is intended to mean genuinely adding to supply. A standard knock-down rebuild of one house into another house generally won't qualify. Off-the-plan apartments and genuine new dwellings generally will. The detail matters and it's exactly the kind of thing to confirm before signing, not after.
The honest framework
The order of operations hasn't changed. Location and asset quality first. Growth drivers first. Then, if two options are genuinely comparable, let the tax treatment break the tie.
What has changed is that comparable is now a higher bar for established property, because it's carrying a heavier holding cost. A good established house in a supply constrained suburb can still beat a new build. It just has to beat it by more than it used to.
This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Model your specific numbers with your accountant.
Where independent eyes matter most
The new build space is crawling with sellers on commission. Project marketers, developer sales teams, "free" property advisors paid by the builder. The tax change handed them their best pitch in years.
A buyer's agent paid only by you is the counterweight. They'll tell you if the shiny new stock is worth it or if the boring established house two suburbs over wins. Converta matches you with a vetted, independent buyer's agent in your target market. Free, no obligation, first call within 24 hours.
Sources: ATO, 2026-27 Federal Budget.