End of 2025: positioning the portfolio for the 18-month grandfathering runway
With 18 months until the 1 July 2027 grandfathering deadline, December is the moment to lock in 2026 acquisition timing. We share the framework we are running with every client.
The calendar matters now. From 1 January 2026 there are exactly 18 months until the grandfathering deadline that ends pre-Budget tax treatment for any new investment property not settled before 1 July 2027. The construction and settlement timelines on house-and-land and off-the-plan stock make that runway tighter than it sounds.
A typical house-and-land contract exchanged in Q1 2026 settles between Q3 2026 and Q1 2027 — comfortably inside the window. A contract exchanged in Q3 2026 cuts much closer. A contract exchanged in Q1 2027 carries real execution risk on the deadline.
The Q1 2026 framework
Three things to lock in before 31 March 2026: a portfolio audit identifying which existing positions are recycled and which are held; a corridor and asset-class shortlist that reflects the post-2027 tax framework; and contract execution on the first tranche of new-build acquisitions, sized to leave headroom for a second tranche in mid-2026. Investors who run that playbook enter 2027 with their grandfathered cost base secured.
Dax Stanley
Founder & Principal Strategist, Hera Property. #1 international bestselling author of Real Estate Investing Using ChatGPT.