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Downsizing Dover Heights: funding a luxury apartment move smartly
Written and reviewed by James Chee, CPA · Last reviewed
Thinking of selling a Dover Heights family home and moving into a luxury apartment? This guide walks through finance options, tax rules and sequencing so you can test a decision-ready plan this week.
Key Takeaway
This article explains how to downsize from a Dover Heights family home into a luxury apartment, covering finance structures, capital gains rules and superannuation strategies. It notes that most owner-occupied homes remain CGT-free, but reforms from 1 July 2027 introduce a minimum 30% tax on many capital gains and replace the 50% discount with CPI indexation. Readers learn how to sequence sale and purchase, choose safe loan-to-value ratios and consider downsizer super contributions so they can build a concrete plan this week.
Watch the short answer
Is Your Accountant Only Looking Backwards at Your Tax Papers?
If you’re weighing a Dover Heights downsizing plan, this video shows how forward-looking tax advice can better support your funding strategy.
Read the transcript
If your accountant is still working on your past tax papers, traditional bank branch staff will tell you that you cannot apply for a loan. They're wrong. We use alternative documentation frameworks that allow us to verify your true financial trajectory using your active rolling business bank statements. Don't let backlogged accounting portals freeze your personal wealth. DM me 'ALTDOC' to run your assessment today.
General information only, not personal advice. Your situation is assessed before any recommendation.
This topic is covered in full on Tailored Loans Sydney
Thinking of selling a Dover Heights family home and moving into a luxury apartment? This guide walks through finance options, tax rules and sequencing so you can test a decision-ready plan this week.
Read the full guide on tailoredloans.sydneySelling a Dover Heights family home and moving into a luxury apartment normally means three things: your old home is sold CGT‑free, you decide how much of the sale price to re‑tie up in the new place, and you choose whether to hold extra cash, super or investments with what’s left.
Here’s how to make those calls with clear numbers, not vibes.
Step 1: Clarify your numbers before you list
Work backwards from the apartment you actually want, not the one an agent says you can “stretch to”.
Example (indicative only):
- Family home sale price: $6.0m
- Selling costs (agent, marketing, legals): ~$150k
- Net sale proceeds: $5.85m
- Desired luxury apartment: $4.0m
- Stamp duty + legals on purchase: ~$200k
- Net spare capital if you buy in cash: ~$1.65m
Key questions this week:
- Do you want the apartment debt‑free, or are you comfortable with a modest loan (say 10–30% LVR) to keep more money in super or investments?
- How much annual after‑tax income do you actually need from the spare capital?
- What buffer do you want in cash/offset (for most Eastern Suburbs households, 6–12 months of living costs plus loan repayments is a practical target).
If you’re unsure about borrowing capacity in retirement or with lower work hours, read this alongside “Smart Ways Dover Heights Retirees Can Access Home Equity Safely”.
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