Property Investments in Australia

Property Investments in Australia 

This page delves into property funds and trusts open to Australian investors: pooled vehicles that hold commercial, residential or development property, compared by structure, liquidity terms, minimum investment and investor type. It is not a guide to buying an investment property. 

Entry points start at a $500 first purchase on the ASX and run to $250,000 for some wholesale funds. We don’t rank funds, and this is general information. 

Looking for where to buy an investment property in Australia? 

This page won’t help you buy a house, unit or commercial building in your own name. That’s direct property, and it starts with a real estate agent, a buyer’s agent and a lender. 

This page is for real estate investing through a fund.  

As Moneysmart puts it, you buy units in an investment run by a professional manager, who pools your money with other investors’ and invests it in property. The property investment company (the fund manager) owns the buildings, collects the rent and pays you a share as distributions. 

Want property exposure you can buy and sell on the ASX like a share? Compare funds on our property ETFs hub and property securities funds page.

How to compare the property funds listed here 

Where the issuer has published them, this page shows those same core details, so you can line funds up side by side.  

Start with these four, then use the Objective and Investor Type filters above to narrow the list. 

Then check the numbers in the listing and offer document.

• Total returns (income plus capital growth) over 1, 3 and 5 years, to see how a fund has performed across market cycles. Always note the date the figures were reported. 
• Distribution rate and frequency, to judge how consistent the income has been relative to similar funds. 
• Gearing: how much debt the fund carries (its loan-to-value ratio, or LVR). For context, A-REITs averaged 28.6% gearing in FY25. 
• Asset quality and diversification: sectors, tenants, locations and weighted average lease expiry (WALE). 
• Fees and costs: management fee, any performance fee and the total cost ratio. On our listings these range from 0.23% for an index ETF to 1.90% for an unlisted direct property fund. 
• The manager: track record, transparency and how the fund fits your wider portfolio. 

Example: Four property securities funds, side by side 

This is how the listing figures look when you compare funds on the same measures. It is an illustration, not a ranking, and funds are shown alphabetically. Returns are shown as each issuer has published them at 30 September 2026. 

Returns and costs as shown on each InvestmentMarkets listing at 28 September 2026.

What we do and don’t do 

• We don’t rank funds. Search results ask for the ‘best’ or ‘top’ property funds.  
• Figures come from the issuer, and they’re dated. Where the issuer has published them, each listing shows fees, minimum investment, liquidity, structure, investor type, the offer document and a last-updated date. Check that date before relying on a number. 
• This is general information, not advice. It doesn’t consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Read the offer document and consider speaking with a licensed financial adviser before investing. 

This is an educational guide to help investors better understand the property fund landscape in Australia. It is not personal financial advice, nor does it consider individual objectives or circumstances. [IMA, operator of www.investmentmarkets.com.au, holds AFSL No. 527875.] 

What Are Property Investments? 

Goodman Group’s property portfolio was valued at $85.6 billion at 30 June 2025. You can’t buy one of its warehouses, but you can own a slice of all of them with a $500 first purchase on the ASX. That is what a property fund does. 

Property investment funds, commonly called property funds, pool investor capital to buy, manage and earn income from property. They give Australian investors exposure to commercial and residential real estate without the capital, complexity or day-to-day management of owning a building. 

The range is wider than most people expect: offices, shopping centres, industrial and logistics estates, healthcare properties, convenience retail and specialist assets such as social infrastructure. Income usually comes from tenants’ rent, with the potential for capital growth as properties are improved, revalued or sold. 

The structure you choose changes how your investment behaves. Listed funds (A-REITs) trade on the ASX and move with the share market: from June 2007 to March 2023, Australian listed property had a correlation of 0.77 with Australian shares, against –0.04 for unlisted property. Unlisted trusts and syndicates are steadier on paper but much harder to exit. This guide explains how property funds work, the main types, their benefits and risks, how to compare them, and the tax and regulatory points to understand before investing. 

Key takeaways 

• Property funds pool investor capital to own and manage property. Investors hold units, not buildings. 
• The main types in Australia are A-REITs, unlisted property trusts, syndicates, development funds and property securities funds. 
• Liquidity varies widely. A-REITs trade daily on the ASX, unlisted funds offer limited redemption windows, and syndicates are generally illiquid until the asset is sold. 
• Distributions come mainly from rental income after expenses, fees and financing costs. They are not guaranteed. 
• Key risks include economic conditions, vacancy, interest rates, gearing, valuation lag and concentration. 
• Useful comparison points are fees, WALE, occupancy, gearing (LVR), valuation frequency, redemption policy and manager governance. 
• Tax-deferred distributions reduce your CGT cost base. They are not tax-free income. 
• No single structure suits every investor. Suitability depends on your goals, risk tolerance, timeframe and liquidity needs. 

Australia’s property fund market in numbers 

Why Invest in Commercial Property Through a Fund? 

Australian commercial real estate is valued for rental income and the potential for capital growth through market cycles. Many leases build in rising rent: Perpetual notes contractual rent step-ups of around 3–4% a year in most tenant agreements. 

For individual investors, direct access is hard. Institutional-grade commercial properties are expensive, demand extensive due diligence, and need active management of leases, tenants and maintenance. Without deep expertise and capital, most private investors can’t reach this market or its diversification benefits. 

Property funds close that gap. By pooling capital from many investors, they buy and manage portfolios of institutional-grade real estate and offer proportional ownership at a fraction of the direct cost. The manager handles operations, and investors receive a share of the income. 

‘Gain access to high-quality commercial real estate assets that offer robust, income-based returns and potential for capital growth.’ Westbridge Funds Management 

David Harrison, Managing Director of Charter Hall, highlights the value of co-investment in property funds: 

‘Business models where a majority of the balance sheet is co-invested with investors has been a major dynamic change. And ensuring development profits stay with fund investors, rather than being captured by the manager, has reinforced long-term partnerships.’  David Harrison, Managing Director, Charter Hall (The Australian) 

What is a property fund? 

A property fund is a managed investment scheme in which money from many investors is pooled to buy and manage a portfolio of real estate. A professional fund manager oversees property acquisition, tenant leasing, maintenance and long-term strategy on investors’ behalf. 

Moneysmart defines it this way: ‘A property fund is where you buy ‘units’ in an investment run by a professional investment manager. They pool your money together with other investors’ money and invest it in property assets.’ Managers such as Centuria offer ‘a diverse mix of unlisted property funds across a broad range of sectors including office, industrial, retail, healthcare and agriculture.’ 

Tip: Property funds combine scale, diversification and professional oversight with the potential for regular income and tax-deferred distributions, making them an accessible alternative to owning property directly. 

Types of Property Funds in Australia: Listed vs Unlisted 

Before investing, it’s important to understand how listed and unlisted property funds differ: 

The biggest differences are liquidity and volatility. Listed funds are easier to sell, but their prices move with the share market: 

The grid below compares the main structures, with direct property included for reference. 

Listed property funds (A-REITs) 

Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITs) are property trusts listed on the ASX. They are the most liquid way to invest in property funds because units can be bought and sold daily, like shares. A-REITs typically hold large, diversified portfolios of office towers, shopping centres, industrial estates, logistics hubs and healthcare facilities. 

Key characteristics: 

• Minimum investment: $500 for a first purchase of any ASX security. 
• Liquidity: high. You can trade during ASX hours, and trades settle two business days later (T+2). 
• Volatility: higher. Prices move with the share market as well as property values. The Vanguard Australian Property Securities ETF, which tracks the A-REIT index, returned –14.95% over the year to 28 September 2026. 
• Distributions: usually paid quarterly or half-yearly. 
• Concentration: the sector is top-heavy. Goodman Group alone makes up over 40% of the benchmark A-REIT index. 

Ten well-known A-REITs (source: Finexia), shown alphabetically for reference: 

There are also property securities funds that invest in portfolios of REITs. Because they spread money across many REITs, sectors and sometimes countries, they can reduce reliance on any single trust. Examples include: 

• Resolution Capital Global Property Securities Active ETF (RCAP): invests in a select number of global listed real estate securities, aiming for income and capital growth. 
• Pengana High Conviction Property Securities Fund: a concentrated portfolio of Australian-listed property securities, with up to 10% in international property. 

Unlisted property funds 

Unlisted property funds operate privately and are not traded on a stock exchange. Unit prices are based on the value of the underlying assets, with independent valuations conducted periodically, so they avoid the share market’s daily swings. The trade-off is reduced liquidity. 

Key characteristics: 

• Minimum investment: higher, from $10,000 up to $250,000 or more. 
• Liquidity: limited. For example, GDA Diversified Property Trust offers restricted quarterly withdrawals plus five-yearly liquidity events, and Charter Hall DIF4 holds major liquidity events every five years. 
• Volatility: lower on paper, with a –0.04 correlation to shares over 2007–2023, because pricing follows valuations rather than daily sentiment. 
• Structure: open-ended (accepting new money and redemptions) or closed-ended (a fixed pool of capital for a set project or term). 
• Scale: large managers dominate. Charter Hall’s funds alone make up over 20% of the MSCI/Mercer core wholesale property index by net asset value. 

Examples: 

• Charter Hall Direct Industrial Fund No.4 (DIF4): a portfolio of Australian industrial and logistics properties. 
• GDA Diversified Property Trust: a diversified trust open to retail investors from $10,000. 
• The Stay Company Income Fund: a wholesale fund with a $50,000 minimum. 

Property syndicates and development funds 

Property syndicates pool investors to buy one property or a small group of properties. Chant West notes that the ‘average expected life of a syndicate is typically five to seven years’ and that syndicates are ‘fixed-term vehicles with no liquidity’. Returns depend heavily on one or a few tenants. 

Property development funds finance the construction or redevelopment of property. Returns depend on the project being completed on time and on budget and then sold or leased, so they typically carry more risk and uncertainty than funds holding income-producing buildings. 

Wholesale vs retail property funds 

• Wholesale funds are open only to wholesale or sophisticated investors (see the FAQs below). Minimums are often high: MaxCap Investment Trust High Yield starts at $100,000 and ASA Equal Living Social Infrastructure Fund at $250,000. 
• Retail funds are open to the general public with lower minimums (e.g. $10,000), and unlisted property schemes offered to retail investors must meet ASIC’s disclosure benchmarks in Regulatory Guide 46. 

What Are the Benefits and Risks of Property Funds? 

Before investing in property funds, understand both sides. 

Benefits of property fund investment 

✅ Professional management. A professional manager chooses the properties and handles maintenance, administration and rent collection, removing much of the work of owning property directly. 

✅ Diversification. Pooled capital spreads your money across multiple assets, sectors and regions. As FRP Capital puts it, ‘investors benefit from exposure to multiple assets, tenants, and locations.’ Diversification is an important principle when building a portfolio that includes property funds. 

✅ Access to premium assets. Unlisted funds open up institutional-grade assets that individuals can rarely buy alone, such as a portfolio of quality industrial and logistics properties or healthcare property. 

✅ Regular income. Many funds pay monthly or quarterly. For example, GDA Diversified Property Trust pays monthly at 4.50% a year and Charter Hall DIF4 pays quarterly at 5.5% a year (issuer figures, not guaranteed). 

✅ Tax-deferred distributions. Depreciation on buildings and fittings means part of a distribution may be tax-deferred. This postpones tax rather than removing it: the ATO requires you to adjust the cost base of your units by these amounts, which can increase capital gains tax when you sell. 

Risks to consider 

⚠ Liquidity risk. The main risk for most unlisted funds. Moneysmart warns they can be ‘difficult to withdraw money early’, and withdrawals may be limited or suspended in stressed markets. 

‘It is critical that any investor in the real estate sector understands and appreciates the illiquid nature of the underlying asset class.’ 

Adrian Harrington, Head of Capital & Product Development, Charter Hall (Trustnet) 

⚠ Market risk. Rising interest rates, weaker tenant demand or slower growth can cut rental income and asset values. Listed funds show it fastest: the Dexus AREIT Fund and Vanguard’s A-REIT ETF both lost around 14–15% in the year to 28 September 2026. 

⚠ Gearing (leverage) risk. Most funds borrow to buy assets, which magnifies gains and losses. A-REITs averaged 28.6% gearing in FY25. Moneysmart suggests checking ‘what the fund owes (its debts) versus what it owns (its assets)’. 

⚠ Management risk. Performance depends heavily on the manager. Poor acquisitions, weak tenant management or poor allocation decisions can hurt returns. 

‘…it is at the manager’s discretion to buy or sell assets, so investors must have confidence in their ability to do so successfully.’ 

Hamish Wehl, Head of Funds Management, Cromwell Property Group (The Australian, December 2019) 

How Do I Choose a Property Fund? A Due Diligence Checklist 

Use this checklist to work through any fund you’re considering: 

1. Align with your goals. Does the fund prioritise income, capital growth or a blend? Make sure its strategy matches your objectives, and that its minimum investment fits your budget. 

2. Understand the strategy. Is it a conservative buy-and-hold approach, or a higher-risk value-add or development strategy? Your risk tolerance should match. 
   
   
3. Scrutinise the fee structure. Understand management, performance and exit fees. Total costs on our listings run from 0.23% to 1.90% a year, and that gap compounds (see the worked example below).
   
   
4. Assess the fund manager. Look at the track record across market cycles, including returns since inception, and how the manager handled the last downturn.
   
   
5. Review the property portfolio. Look at asset quality, tenant strength (e.g. government or blue-chip tenants), geographic spread and WALE. Unlisted trusts ‘can be targeted to specific sectors or geographic locations’, so check that the focus is what you want.
   
   
6. Check the gearing level. Compare the fund’s debt with its assets, and check interest cover: whether the fund can meet its interest payments from its earnings. 
   
   
7. Read the offer document or IM carefully. The offer document or Information Memorandum (IM) sets out the fund’s rules, risks and fees. For unlisted property schemes, ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 46 sets the disclosure benchmarks to look for. 
   

‘The returns [on unlisted trusts] are less correlated to the share market so unit prices are less volatile and reflect undervalued assets.’ 

Hamish Wehl, Head of Funds Management, Cromwell Property Group (The Australian, December 2019) 

How Much Do Fees Cost Over 10 Years? A Worked Example 

Sarah wants to invest $100,000 for 10 years and is weighing two property funds. Both are expected to earn the same gross return of 8% a year before fees. The only difference is cost: 

• Fund A (low-cost A-REIT): listed property trust with a 0.50% p.a. management expense ratio (MER). 
• Fund B (unlisted property fund): 1.25% p.a. MER. 

Hypothetical example calculated by InvestmentMarkets. Assumes returns compound annually and are reinvested, with no tax or other costs. The fee levels sit within the range of total costs on our listings. 

Key takeaway: A 0.75% difference in annual fees costs almost $14,000 on a $100,000 investment over a decade. Comparing fees is a core part of due diligence, not a box-ticking exercise. 

Current Market Trends and Outlook 

Four trends shaping Australia’s property fund sector: 

1. Industrial and logistics remain tight 

Demand for warehouses and distribution space has kept vacancy low. CBRE puts the national industrial and logistics vacancy rate at 3.2% in the second half of 2025, below the 4% level it treats as market equilibrium. Industrial transactions reached $3.2 billion in the September 2025 quarter, up 15% on a year earlier. 

2. Sustainability as a differentiator 

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are now central to investment decisions. PwC says: ‘For the property sector, ESG performance will be a key differentiator and a focus of increasing regulation and scrutiny.’ 

3. Alternative sectors are growing 

Investors are looking beyond office, retail and industrial. Living, data centre and seniors housing assets made up 26% of income-producing transaction volumes in 2025 to September. 

4. Technology integration 

Technology is changing how property is managed and transacted, with analytics and smart building systems aimed at improving efficiency, transparency and the tenant experience. 

Conclusion: Are Property Investments Right for You? 

Property investment funds give Australian investors a structured way to gain exposure to commercial real estate without owning property directly. Depending on their structure, they can offer professionally managed portfolios, income through rental distributions and access to institutional-grade assets such as industrial estates, office buildings, healthcare facilities and retail centres. By pooling capital, they let investors diversify across sectors, tenants and locations that would be hard to reach individually. 

They are not without risk. Performance depends on property market conditions, tenant demand, lease structures, gearing, valuation timing and broader factors such as interest rates and employment. Income and capital returns are not guaranteed, and values can fall as well as rise. 

Whether property investments suit you depends on your goals, risk tolerance, timeframe and liquidity needs. Listed A-REITs offer daily trading and price transparency but move with share market sentiment. Unlisted funds behave differently because of periodic valuations and withdrawal rules. Syndicates and development funds usually involve longer commitments and more uncertainty. Before investing, read the offer document, understand how the structure works, what drives its returns and where the risks lie, and consider speaking with a licensed financial or tax professional.

Written by Simon Turner, Head of Content (CFA), InvestmentMarkets 

Published 28 September 2026 

Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Consider speaking with a licensed tax or financial professional. 

Sources 

1. BDO, A-REIT Survey 2025 
2. VanEck, A-REITs strength in 2025 belies the benchmark index (November 2025) 
3. Perpetual Private, Listed vs Unlisted Real Estate (May 2023) 
4. Financial Newswire, Property funds get first uplift in 3 years 
5. Charter Hall, CCRF included in the MSCI/Mercer Australia Core Wholesale Property Fund Index (October 2025) 
6. Charter Hall, Listed vs unlisted Australian property funds 
7. CBRE, Australia’s national industrial & logistics vacancy rate lifts to 3.2% 
8. Chant West, Will property syndicates go green? 
9. Trilogy Funds, Managed fund comparison: REITs v property trusts 
10. Stake, What is minimum marketable parcel (MMP)? 
11. Moneysmart, Property funds 
12. Moneysmart, Sophisticated investor (glossary) 
13. Corporations Act 2001, s761G 
14. ASIC, Regulatory Guide 46 
15. ASX, T+1 settlement cycle (current T+2 settlement) 
16. ATO, Trust non-assessable payments (CGT event E4) 
17. ATO, myTax 2026 managed funds 
18. ATO, Create your SMSF investment strategy 
19. PwC, Great expectations for ESG in Australia’s property sector 
20. Finexia, Top 10 REITs in Australia 
21. FRP Capital, Listed vs unlisted commercial property investments 

Fund figures are taken from InvestmentMarkets listings as displayed on 28 September 2026.