Rewarding Property Decisions with Jarrod McCabe of Wakelin Property Advisory

The federal budget's changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax have reshaped the investment landscape. But one asset has emerged with its tax advantages fully intact – your family home.

With the principal place of residence still exempt from capital gains tax, the question for homeowners is no longer just "does my home suit my lifestyle?" It's whether your most significant asset is also working as a wealth creation tool.

In this episode, Jarrod introduces the concept of home vesting – applying an investment lens to how you buy, improve and hold your family home.

• How to assess whether your current home has the growth characteristics that drive capital value
• When renovation makes sense – and when it risks overcapitalising
• The real cost comparison between renovating and moving
• What to prioritise if you decide to upgrade – and the difference between a scarce asset and an anomalous one

Read the blog at wakelin.com.au

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

Since we published the 2026 Wakelin Melbourne Property Report early this year, the landscape has shifted materially. Negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT) changes have been legislated. New state-level reforms are in play. And the confidence that was beginning to rebuild through 2025 has been tested from multiple directions at once.

In this episode, Jarrod surveys the forces now shaping Melbourne's market – what's been settled, what's still pending, and what the data is telling us about conditions on the ground.

• What the confirmed negative gearing, CGT and super fund borrowing changes mean for investors now
• Why proposed disclosed reserve laws could push sales toward less transparent processes
• How clearance rates, supply and rents are tracking in mid-2026
• Why a softer market creates a genuine opportunity for upgraders

Read the blog at wakelin.com.au

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

 

Most clients come to us with the obvious questions well prepared – what's my property worth, where should I buy, which agent should I use. 

But some of the most consequential questions are the ones that never get asked.

In this episode, Jarrod walks through the questions and actions that buyers and sellers routinely overlook – and explains why the answers can make a material difference to the outcome.

• How time limits on buying services can reveal whether your agent's motivations are aligned with yours
• Why identifying your most likely buyer is the single question that unlocks every other selling decision
• The owners' corporation habit that separates properties that hold their value from those that don't
• Why spending your full budget isn't always the smartest move

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

 

A renter and an investor walk into the same property – and see completely different things. One wants comfort, condition and convenience. The other wants scarcity, growth potential and the ability to add value over time. More often than not, those priorities point in different directions.

In this episode, Jarrod and Jordan put this to the test with two real North Fitzroy properties – a recently renovated townhouse and a Victorian terrace – each assessed through both lenses.

• Why the townhouse delivers everything a renter wants but hits a ceiling for investors
• What makes the terrace a renter's compromise but an investor's opportunity
• How scarcity value, value-add potential and owners' corporation constraints shape the investment case
• The distinction between the best yield today and the best asset long-term

Images of both properties are available on the Wakelin blog at wakelin.com.au

 

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

 

With Melbourne offering genuine value relative to other capitals and the family home sitting in an increasingly attractive tax position, it's no surprise that expat enquiry has been picking up. Uncertain times have a way of drawing people home.

But buying a family home from overseas – or immediately upon return – is a very different exercise from a standard purchase. The planning, the timing and the priorities all shift.

In this episode, Jarrod walks through the key considerations for expats looking to return to Melbourne and buy well.

• Why your old map of Melbourne may no longer apply after years away
• How to plan the timeline around accommodation, finance and schooling
• Getting the property brief right so you don't outgrow the home within a few years
• The options for buying remotely versus waiting until you're settled

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

The federal budget has delivered the most significant changes to property investment tax settings in a generation. Negative gearing for established property is being wound back. The capital gains tax discount is being replaced. And the spruikers are already circling with off-the-plan offers.

So what does this actually mean – and what should investors do?

In this episode, Jarrod and Jordan cut through the noise to give Wakelin's practical read on the changes, the risks and the opportunities that aren't getting enough attention.

• Why current investors in established property should hold their nerve
• The new-build incentive trap – and why the tax benefits won't transfer to your next buyer
• Carry-forward losses, lower leverage and the family home as overlooked opportunities
• Why Melbourne may be less affected than the rest of the country

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

AI can now deliver median prices, sale histories and demographics in seconds. But when it comes to assessing the value of a specific property, the technology has real limitations – and buyers who treat AI-generated valuations as fact risk making decisions based on flawed data.

In this episode, Jarrod examines how AI valuation tools work, where they fall short, and what a physical inspection reveals that no algorithm can replicate.

• Why incorrect data and non-market transactions distort AI valuations
• The nuances AI can't yet assess – from floor plan flow to renovation quality
• How position within a block and structural integrity only reveal themselves in person
• A case study where a free valuation tool got it wrong by $100,000

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

The most costly mistakes in property investment rarely happen at auction. They happen weeks or months earlier, when the wrong objective takes hold and shapes every decision that follows – from the stock you look at to the price you're willing to pay.

In this episode, Jarrod unpacks the common traps that lead investors toward the wrong property, and explains why capital growth should always come first.

• Why chasing depreciation benefits pushes buyers toward assets that go backwards
• The tension between yield and growth – and why they often work at cross purposes
• How emotion and well-meaning advice from family and friends can compromise your selection
• The risk of trying to make one property serve as both investment and future lifestyle

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

High interest rates, cost of living pressures and global instability have kept Melbourne's property market subdued – but a flat market is not the same as an easy one. Stock thins out, competition concentrates in unexpected pockets, and the gap between genuine value and simply cheap widens.

 

So how do you buy well in these conditions?

In this episode, Jarrod walks through the key considerations for purchasing property in an uncertain market – and shares a case study that proves why discipline and preparation still win out.

 

• Why asset selection matters more than ever when bargains are tempting
• The difference between a property that's good value and one that's cheap for a reason
• How to assess value when sales evidence is thin and sentiment varies by sector
• A two-bedroom apartment quoted at $750–825K that ultimately sold above $900K

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email

As older apartment buildings across Melbourne's middle ring continue to age, we're seeing more cases where the underlying land value has started to exceed the value of the building itself. That's creating opportunities – but also complexity – for owners considering a group sale to a developer.

It's a very different process from selling a single property, with far more moving parts and far more potential for things to go wrong.

In this episode, Jarrod walks through the key considerations owners need to work through before embarking on the process.

• How to determine whether the land value genuinely justifies a developer sale
• Why owner motivations – from investors to long-term occupiers – shape the entire process
• The unanimity requirement in Victoria and how one holdout can stop everything
• Setting a minimum price and getting independent advice to hold the group together

We enjoy providing you with free insights into the Melbourne property market and property investment more broadly. Thank you for listening. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe, like, rate or follow us and tell your friends and family.

Investing in property makes sense.  Investing in the right property takes knowledge.

To learn more visit www.wakelin.com.au  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  | LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Email