What Twelve CH Secure Purchases Show About Property Investing in Australia

Since the federal budget in May, many investors have paused. Under the proposed changes, rental losses on established homes bought after budget night can no longer be offset against wage income from July 2026. From July 2027, the 50% capital gains discount on newly acquired property would be replaced with an inflation-based discount. That changes the tax side of property investing in Australia. What decides whether a property is worth owning is the same as before: land in a location where people want to live and work, bought at a defensible price, with rent that covers most of the cost of holding it.

That last point has always shaped how CH Secure buys. Each purchase starts with the client’s goals, budget and timeframe, and that plan decides where to search and what to buy. Every shortlisted property goes through due diligence before an offer is made. An investment that doesn’t rely on a tax deduction to stay affordable is better placed under the new rules.

The buyers CH Secure have worked with range from a 24-year-old buying his first property to a couple in their late forties investing through their self-managed super fund. Some started with $78,000 in savings, others with more than $500,000 in super or equity in the family home. Seen side by side, the purchases show how one set of rules for property investing in Australia works across very different starting points, and where the published numbers need context.

What the twelve purchases have in common

Land comes first. The smallest block in the set is 350sqm and the largest 750sqm. Seven are four-bedroom homes and the other five have three bedrooms. Buildings depreciate and land appreciates, so an investor paying $500,000 for a house on 450sqm owns more of the part that grows than someone paying the same for a capital-city apartment, where much of the price sits in the building and the strata scheme.

Rent is the second thread. Measured against what each client paid, gross rental yields across the twelve sit between 4.9% and 6.2% at today’s rents. Sarah and Tom’s Queensland house, bought for $485,000 and now let at $580 a week, returns about 6.2% gross on the purchase price. James’s Queensland purchase returns about 6.1%.

All twelve results

CH Secure co-founder and managing director Joshua Meli has explained the reasoning in plain terms. Speaking to Elite Agent, he compared a Sydney investment property at a 2 to 3% gross yield, “which means you’ll have to fork out quite a lot to hold onto that asset”, with the 6 to 6.5% gross yields the team was targeting in other markets.

A high yield investment property doesn’t grow faster because it yields more. The rent works on cash flow. It reduces what the owner tops up each month, and that monthly shortfall is usually what stops investors from buying a second property.

Growth tracks time in the market

The largest gains belong to the earliest purchases. The two properties bought in 2022 are up 32% and 35%. The six bought in 2023 are up between 22% and 28%. The four bought in 2024 sit between 17% and 23%.

That is the pattern you would expect from well-selected houses in markets that kept rising, and it is a reminder that these are early results. Housing in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia broadly outperformed Sydney and Melbourne over this period, so part of every gain here belongs to the cycle. The part that belongs to the buying shows up in less visible places: the price paid against comparable sales, the condition of the house, and whether tenants want to live in that street.

Rentvesters buying outside the city they live in

Four of the twelve are rentvesters, and three of them rent in Sydney or Melbourne. Sarah and Tom, 29 and 31, rent in Sydney and had $85,000 saved. They bought a four-bedroom house on 436sqm in Queensland for $485,000 in 2022, now estimated at $640,000. Priya, 27, rents in Melbourne and used $92,000 in savings to buy a three-bedroom house in South Australia for $520,000 in 2023. It is now estimated at $665,000 and rents for $540 a week.

Ben and Chloe rent in Bondi. With $105,000 saved, they bought a four-bedroom house on 512sqm in Queensland for $560,000, now estimated at $690,000 and let at $620 a week.

Rentvesting separates two decisions most buyers bundle together: where to live and what to own. The trade-off is that an investment property doesn’t carry the capital gains tax main residence exemption, and the rentvester stays exposed to rent increases where they live. Nick and Sam, 34 and 32, show where the strategy leads once it works. Their Victorian house, bought for $610,000 in 2024, is their third purchase. Its 17% estimated growth is the lowest in the set, and it also has the shortest hold.

First home buyers who started with an investment

Three clients bought their first property as an investment. James, 26, had $78,000 saved and bought a three-bedroom house on 750sqm in Queensland for $440,000 in 2022. It has the largest block and the largest estimated gain in the group: $595,000 today, or 35%, with rent at $520 a week. Rachel and Dan, 28 and 30, used $110,000 to buy a four-bedroom house on 663sqm in Western Australia for $580,000, now estimated at $720,000. Liam, 24, bought in South Australia in 2024 for $495,000 with $82,000 saved.

Buying an investment first usually has a cost. The federal Home Guarantee Scheme and most state first home buyer stamp duty concessions require the buyer to live in the property, and owning residential property generally removes first home buyer status for later purchases. For some buyers the growth and rent from an early investment outweigh those concessions. For others they don’t. A broker can run both scenarios before any contract is signed.

Homeowners using equity instead of savings

The equity release clients started with property rather than cash. Kate and Andrew, 42 and 44, own a $1.6 million home in Sydney and bought a four-bedroom house in Queensland for $545,000 in 2023, now estimated at $680,000. David, 45, owns a $1.3 million home in Melbourne and bought in South Australia for $580,000 in 2024. Michael, 38, owns in Brisbane and bought a four-bedroom house on 620sqm in Victoria for $620,000. It is now estimated at $775,000.

None of these clients bought in the city where they live. The investment market was chosen on its numbers, separately from the home market. The risk sits with the family home: the deposit is borrowed against it, so total debt rises. How those loans are structured, including whether the investment loan is kept separate from the home loan, is worth settling with a broker before the search begins.

What the results leave out

CH Secure’s own disclaimer covers the main gaps. The current values are estimates drawn from comparable sales, and the growth figures exclude holding costs, transaction costs and tax. Stamp duty alone on a $500,000 investment purchase runs into five figures in every state represented here. Selling costs would come off any gain, and none of these clients has sold.

The harder period is the one the table can’t show. CH Secure describes the first one to three years after a purchase as the point where holding costs peak before rents catch up, and where many investors give up. The firm cites figures suggesting 73% of investors never get past one property. A yield-first purchase is designed to make that stretch affordable enough that a second purchase stays possible, which is how Nick and Sam reached a third.

How CH Secure selects a property

CH Secure was established by Joshua Meli and Simon Cohen, founder of Cohen Handler. Meli’s background is in construction and commercial property, with qualifications across real estate, building and financial services, and the CH Secure process gives build quality the same weight as location and yield.

Each purchase starts with a portfolio plan, so the first property is bought with the second and third in mind. Location research draws on population growth, employment, infrastructure and rental data, which is where regional investment property often stands out: lower entry prices, and rents and vacancy rates that support a yield-first purchase. Shortlisted homes are then assessed against a due diligence checklist of more than 40 points covering build quality, location fundamentals, rental yield, vacancy and long-term growth, and the numbers are stress-tested at current interest rates. It is the same discipline behind Cohen Handler’s property due diligence service, applied to a narrower investment brief.

CH Secure says 82% of its purchases are sourced off-market. An off-market property isn’t cheaper or better by default. It usually means fewer competing buyers at the point of negotiation, and the property still has to pass every other check. After settlement the team coordinates property management and tenant placement, then reviews each client’s valuations and equity position to judge when the next purchase is viable.

Clients looking for a higher-value investment in a capital city, rather than a sub-$700,000 house in a growth market, are better served by Cohen Handler’s investment property buyer’s agents, who work from a detailed property buyer’s brief across Australia’s major markets. Recent examples are in the Cohen Handler portfolio.

Who this approach suits

CH Secure works with investors who have around $80,000 in savings or accessible equity, and its client profiles cover first home buyers, rentvesters, high-equity homeowners and SMSF trustees. The model suits people planning to hold for ten years or more, comfortable owning a house they may never visit, and able to carry a vacancy or a rate rise without selling.

It suits buyers less well if they want to live in the property, expect to need the money within a few years, or would be forced to sell after one bad quarter. Buying a year later with a proper buffer generally leaves an investor in a stronger position than stretching into a property they can’t comfortably hold.

Frequently asked questions

If you’re weighing up a first investment or planning the next one, book a consultation with the CH Secure team to see how a portfolio plan would work with your savings, equity or super.

General information only. Not financial advice. Consult a qualified adviser before making investment decisions.