THE BUYERS GRAILCalculator
Cost of buying and owning calculator
The total to buy a home in your state, price plus transfer duty plus indicative conveyancing and inspection allowances, and a five-year cost of owning.
Status: Duty inside this figure comes from the stamp duty calculator and carries the same verification status: bands verified against the revenue offices in September 2026 (NSW on the 2026-27 scale from 15 September) except the ACT's upper bands; first-home rules as published for 2026-27.
Cost of buying and owning calculator
Cost to buy and hold
Enter your figures to see the result.
First-home-buyer figures assume you meet the relevant eligibility conditions, which the report does not verify: you (and any co-buyer) are an individual who has not previously owned property in Australia, you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you intend to move in and live there for the required period, and you meet any state price, contract-date, residency or income tests that apply. Confirm eligibility with the relevant state revenue office before relying on these figures.
The price is not the cost. Between agreeing a price and holding the keys there is transfer duty, a conveyancer or solicitor, and the inspections that tell you what you are buying. After the keys there are rates, insurance, maintenance and, for apartments, strata levies. This calculator puts an indicative figure on the first group and a rough five-year shape on the second.
How the calculator works
Duty is computed exactly as on the stamp duty calculator, including any first-home concession you tick; the concession is conditional on eligibility rules the calculator does not check. To the price and duty it adds an indicative allowance for conveyancing and for a building and pest inspection; the same allowance the stamp duty calculator uses, so the two pages agree. The five-year view adds holding costs at 1% of the price a year and a cost to sell at 3% of the price.
Reference table
A $700,000 purchase with no concession, in each jurisdiction, computed by the same code.
| Jurisdiction | Transfer duty | Total to buy | Five-year cost of owning |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $25,687 | $728,287 | $84,287 |
| VIC | $37,070 | $739,670 | $95,670 |
| QLD | $17,350 | $719,950 | $75,950 |
| SA | $32,330 | $734,930 | $90,930 |
| WA | $27,265 | $729,865 | $85,865 |
| TAS | $26,748 | $729,348 | $85,348 |
| ACT | $17,048 | $719,648 | $75,648 |
| NT | $34,650 | $737,250 | $93,250 |
State/territory transfer-duty rate bands — NSW on the 2026–27 scale (the tiers from $387,000 and premium duty read on Revenue NSW 15 Sep 2026; the three tiers below reconstructed from the published base amount), VIC and SA schedules verified against the revenue office 15 Sep 2026, NT top rates per the Territory Revenue Office 15 Sep 2026, ACT first band from 1 Jul 2025 with the upper bands unverified; first-home-buyer concessions as published for 2026–27 (checked 6 Sep 2026). Holding costs at 1% of the price a year and a cost to sell at 3%, both indicative.
What the percentages stand for
One per cent of the price a year is a blunt stand-in for council rates, water, building insurance and maintenance on a house, and for strata levies plus the rest on an apartment; actual figures range well above and below it by property. Three per cent to sell covers agent commission, marketing and legal costs at a typical level. Both are placeholders for the property-specific figures a contract, a strata report and a rates notice will give you.
Where the report fits
The report carries a purchase-cost line built with this calculator for the property in question, alongside the fair-value range that says whether the price the costs sit on top of is supported by recorded sales.
Sources
- Revenue NSW, how to calculate transfer duty — checked 6 September 2026. The duty component is the stamp duty calculator's; its eight sources apply. The allowances are indicative and have no single source.
Last updated 15 September 2026 · awaiting review.
Where the report fits
A Property Decision Report does this work for one property you're weighing up: the fair-value range built from recorded comparable sales, where the asking price sits against it, the vendor and agent read, the risks that matter, and your opening, target and walk-away numbers, in writing, within 24 hours.
Get a report — $119 Free address check first Message Theo on WhatsApp
Every pack is the same full report; only the number of properties changes. $249 for three properties, $349 for five.