The language of property, measured.

Benchmark: 80% LVR (Standard No-LMI Threshold)

Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR)

Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) is the size of a mortgage loan expressed as a percentage of the lender’s formal valuation of the property.

Benchmark: $150,000+ Usable Equity (Typical Investor Launchpad)

Usable Home Equity

Usable equity is the portion of your property’s equity that a bank will actually allow you to borrow against without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance—typically calculated as 80% of the property’s current bank valuation minus your existing loan balance.

Benchmark: +3.0% APRA Stress-Test Buffer Above Actual Mortgage Rate

Borrowing Capacity (Serviceability)

Borrowing capacity—called serviceability by lenders—is the maximum loan amount a bank calculates you can afford to repay based on your post-tax income, existing debts, living expenses (HEM), and Rental income, tested at the APRA serviceability buffer (currently the actual interest rate plus 3.0%).

Benchmark: 100% Offset Preferred for Future Rentvestors / Upgraders

Offset Account vs Redraw Facility

An offset account is a separate transactional bank account linked to your mortgage whose balance reduces the loan principal on which daily interest is calculated, whereas a redraw facility holds extra repayments directly inside the loan account itself.

Benchmark: Balanced Yield (4.5%–5.8%) + High Capital Growth R-Score

Negative Gearing vs Positive Cashflow

A property is negatively geared when its deductible annual rental expenses and loan interest exceed the gross rental income it generates, creating a net rental loss that can generally be offset against the owner’s other taxable income under Australian tax law.

Ripehouse MethodologyDefinition →

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is the annualised geometric rate of return that measures how fast a property or multi-property portfolio has grown in value per year from its initial purchase date to today.

Benchmark: +15.0% Median 5-Year Rolling Client Portfolio CAGR

Asset SelectionDefinition →

Land-to-Asset Ratio

Land-to-asset ratio is the proportion of a property’s total market value that comes from the underlying land rather than the physical building structure on top of it.

Benchmark: 60% – 75%+ (Established Freestanding House)

Supply & OwnershipDefinition →

Building Approvals Pipeline

The building approvals pipeline measures the number of new residential dwellings (houses, townhouses, and apartments) approved for construction by local councils and private certifiers over a 12-month period, expressed as a percentage of the area’s existing dwelling stock.

Benchmark: < 1.5% Annual New Supply Addition (Constrained Supply)

Buyer DemandDefinition →

Vendor Discounting

Vendor discounting is the average percentage difference between a property’s original advertised asking price and its final settled contract price on private treaty sales.

Benchmark: 0% to -2.5% (Tight Seller’s Market)

Benchmark: Standalone Uncrossed Loans (Best Practice)

Cross-Collateralisation (Cross-Securitisation)

Cross-collateralisation (also called cross-securitisation) is a loan structure where a bank uses more than one property—typically your family home and your investment property—as combined security for the same mortgage facility.

Asset SelectionDefinition →

Torrens Title vs Strata Title

Torrens title (freehold title) means you own both the physical building and the exact parcel of land it sits on outright, whereas strata title means you own an individual lot (such as an apartment or townhouse interior) plus a shared ownership interest in the common property (roof, driveways, lifts, gardens) managed by an owners corporation or body corporate.

Benchmark: Torrens Title Freestanding House Preferred

Benchmark: Requires Strict Split Separation & Accountant Guidance

Debt Recycling

Debt recycling is a financial strategy where a homeowner progressively replaces non-tax-deductible home loan debt with tax-deductible investment debt by paying down their home loan and re-borrowing the equivalent equity in a separate loan split to invest in income-producing assets such as residential property.

Benchmark: Must Pass Suburb R-Score + 75–100 Street Score + Valuer Check

Off-Market & Pre-Market Property

An off-market property is a residential home offered for sale privately—either directly through a selling agent’s database or to buyer’s agents—without a public advertising campaign on realestate.com.au or Domain.

Benchmark: Independent, Research-Led & National

Buyer’s Agent (Buyer’s Advocate)

A buyer’s agent (also called a buyer’s advocate) is a licensed real estate professional who represents the property buyer exclusively in researching, evaluating, and negotiating the purchase of a residential or commercial property.

Data & GeographyDefinition →

Local Government Area (LGA)

A Local Government Area (LGA)—commonly known as a city council, municipal council, or shire—is the administrative region governed by a local council in Australia, responsible for town planning, zoning, building approvals, local infrastructure, and council rates.

Benchmark: Top 50 Investor LGAs Tracked at /locations

Asset SelectionDefinition →

Planning Overlays (Flood, Bushfire, Slope & Easements)

Planning overlays and title encumbrances—including flood and overland flow overlays, bushfire prone area (BAL) ratings, heritage overlays, acoustic/main-road corridors, steep lot slopes, and underground drainage or sewer easements—are council or title restrictions attached to a specific parcel of land.

Benchmark: Zero Severe Flood / Overland Flow or Restrictive Title Encumbrances

StrategyDefinition →

Rentvesting

Rentvesting is a property investment strategy where you rent the home you live in—typically in an expensive inner-city or coastal lifestyle suburb where gross rental yields are low (~2.2%–2.8%)—while using your deposit and borrowing capacity to buy one or more tax-deductible investment properties in high-growth, higher-yielding (4.8%–5.8%+) markets.

Benchmark: Ideal for High-Cost Capital City Residents

Data & GeographyDefinition →

Median House Price (vs Average Price)

A suburb’s median house price is the middle settled sale price when all house sales in that suburb over a given period (typically 12 months) are ordered from lowest to highest.

Benchmark: Must Be Paired with R-Score & Street Score

Benchmark: 80% LVR Avoids LMI; 88% LVR Used Strategically

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a one-off insurance premium charged to a borrower when their mortgage exceeds 80% of the property’s bank valuation (80% LVR).

Benchmark: Budget ~4% – 5.5% for Stamp Duty + Legal/Inspection Costs

Stamp Duty (Transfer Duty)

Stamp duty (officially called transfer duty in most Australian states) is a state government tax levied on the purchase and transfer of real estate, calculated on a sliding scale based on the property’s contract price or market value and the state or territory in which it sits.

Benchmark: $0 CGT Triggered When Refinancing Equity (Without Selling)

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) & 50% Discount

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is the tax payable on the net profit made when you sell an investment property for more than its cost base (purchase price plus acquisition costs such as stamp duty, legal fees, buyer’s agent fees, and capital improvements, minus claimed building depreciation).

Benchmark: Credit-Assessed Pre-Approval Before Property Shortlisting

Pre-Approval vs Unconditional Finance Approval

Loan pre-approval (conditional approval) is an initial indication from a lender that you meet their income and credit criteria to borrow up to a specified amount, subject to the bank later valuing and accepting the specific property you buy.