Buying Property in AustraliaFrom New York
Home loan, refinancing and investment lending advice for Australians and expats buying from New York. We’re former bankers, we compare 40+ lenders, we’re paid by the lender (not by you), and we work New York hours.
- Australian citizens in the United States face no FIRB approval and no foreign-buyer ban: the whole Australian market is open to you, established homes included, and permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia.
- US dollars sit on the preferred currency list, so lenders commonly count 80 per cent of your net salary, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses are now accepted in servicing at select lenders.
- New York runs fourteen hours behind Melbourne: your evening is Melbourne’s late morning the next day. We work your evening, not ours.
- The full journey, documents to settlement without a flight, is in our step-by-step overseas buying guide. This page covers what is specific to New York.
US dollars, through a lender’s eyes
USD tops every major preferred list, and around 80 per cent of net salary is what an Australian lender will commonly count; how much of the overtime, allowance and bonus stack makes it in depends on the lender. Tax gets modelled at Australian scales by most lenders, whatever you actually pay locally. Get the lender call right, because it typically swings the budget by six figures on one and the same payslip.
US-based Australians earn in the world’s reserve currency, and every lender’s preferred list starts with it: the treatment described here runs from New York to LA, SF, Houston and Austin alike.
The base salary does the heavy lifting. With USD on the preferred currency list, the common treatment counts 80 per cent of your net salary, and it is that counted base, not the headline package, that anchors the file. Select lenders will also take foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses into servicing, which matters in a city where the bonus is half the story. The modelling quirk worth knowing: most lenders run the salary through Australian tax scales even when your actual rate is lower, one more way the choice of lender stretches or shrinks the budget.
One piece of United States context, with no bearing on any Australian loan: the Federal Reserve held the federal funds target range at 3.5 to 3.75 per cent at its July 2026 meeting (federalreserve.gov), the backdrop against which New York savers weigh how long to hold money in USD accounts.
Numbers next. Pull today’s USD rate from xe.com, the same converter the lenders run, and push it through the shading calculator on our expat guide. Hold on to the caveat while you read the output: two lenders looking at one New York payslip routinely price the budget six figures apart, which makes lender matching the first move, not the last.
From New York banking to Bay Area tech, US-based Australians earn in the currency every lender’s preferred list is built around. Equity compensation is the American quirk: RSUs and options are assessed very differently across lenders, and choosing the right one can swing a budget dramatically.
Live as you type. Both settings, the 80 per cent tier and the debt-to-income cap of five, are indicative; tax modelling, commitments and full serviceability decide the real number, and the distance between lenders on the same payslip is routinely six figures. Nothing you enter leaves this page: we never see it, and it is never kept. General information only, not credit advice.
Our August 2026 house-median tracking: Sydney $1,282,020, Brisbane $1,126,149, Perth $1,050,354, Adelaide $950,703, Melbourne $812,621. An indicative ceiling of about $1,022,400 covers the Adelaide, Melbourne house medians; Sydney, Brisbane, Perth would ask for a bigger deposit, a dual income or a different property type. The comparison is only as good as the worked example’s illustrative rate underneath it, and a ceiling that reprices with the currency is exactly what the calculator above keeps live. Your figure from that calculator is the operative one, and the full median tracker carries every city’s detail.
Five years of the US dollar, in Australian dollars
Per Reserve Bank of Australia monthly data, the US dollar bought about A$1.36 in August 2021, A$1.54 in August 2023, A$1.53 in August 2025, and buys about A$1.42 now. A US$150,000 deposit converted in the strongest month of those five years landed at $241,390 Australian; converted in the weakest, $198,781. That leaves about $42,610 riding on timing, which is why the transfer plan sits beside the lender plan rather than after it.
Check the live rate at xe.com whenever you like; the calculator above prices it into a borrowing figure on the spot. No one calls currency correctly for long, so treat it as risk management: know in advance what a few cents does to your deposit, split big transfers into stages instead of picking a single day, and keep the settlement-transfer safeguards on every leg. Exchange-rate figures are RBA monthly averages, general information only, not financial or FX advice.
The practical bits, from New York
Practicalities for New York-based buyers: the time difference of fourteen hours behind Melbourne shapes call scheduling rather than preventing it; documents follow the standard expat file of employment evidence, bank statements and recent payslips; documents are typically in English, simplifying the file; and inspections, contracts and settlement all complete remotely as covered in the step-by-step guide.
- Time zones: New York is fourteen hours behind Melbourne. Your evening is Melbourne’s late morning the next day, and our calendar shows slots in your local time.
- Documents: the standard expat file applies: employment contract or letter, three months of salary credits, two payslips no older than about 60 days. Payslips and contracts are typically issued in English, which keeps the document file straightforward.
- Visa status: Many Australians working in New York hold the E-3 visa, a classification that applies only to nationals of Australia performing services in a specialty occupation in the United States (uscis.gov).
- US tax: A New York salary sits inside the US system, and the IRS generally taxes US citizens and resident aliens on worldwide income from all sources (irs.gov), so before property decisions cross borders, speak to a US tax adviser.
- On the ground: The same USD treatment applies across the United States. Inspections, exchange and settlement all run remotely: the mechanics are Steps 5 and 6 of the main guide.
- The market you are buying into: premium values fell 3.2 per cent in the three months to July while clearance rates sit under 50 per cent: the case for this cycle is in our buyer’s market analysis and buy-back window piece.
In New York? Start with one email. Email ahmed@everstonefinance.com.au, the link pre-fills a short template, and we reply within a day, your time. Or book a slot that lands in your evening.
Australians elsewhere: our guides for Los Angeles, Toronto, or the full overseas playbook.
Already own in Australia? Refinance and equity release, from New York
Australians in New York who already own property in Australia can refinance it and release equity without flying home: at select lenders, expat policy assesses a refinance the way it assesses a purchase, on the shaded USD basis described above. On a typical New York package, part salary, part bonus, part RSUs, that assessment leans on the base salary, with equity and incentive income read lender by lender. According to Everstone Finance, Australians in New York can refinance an Australian mortgage without setting foot in Australia: identity is certified locally, documents are signed electronically, and settlement runs through PEXA, the electronic settlement platform for Australian property.
That lender-by-lender reading is why a refinance from New York deserves more than a rate check. Base salary on the preferred 80 per cent tier usually carries the servicing, but the same RSU grant one credit team averages over a year or two of vesting, another discounts or ignores entirely, and on a tech or finance package that difference can decide whether an equity release clears serviceability. The rate itself is the quick win: the repricing sequence in our negotiate-your-rate guide works by email and evening calls, and the current cashback market pays switchers who qualify. The equity is the bigger play: growth in the Australian property can, at select lenders, become the deposit for the next purchase, assessed alongside the existing loan on shaded income, inside LVR caps, and modelled at Australian tax scales regardless of what you actually pay in the United States. Matching the lender to the shape of your compensation before anything is lodged is what moves the number.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Australian living in New York buy property in Australia?
Yes. The threshold question resolves fast: hold citizenship and you sit outside the FIRB foreign-person definition, so no approval exists to slow you down and no property class is restricted. Permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia, though a PR holder who has lived overseas for an extended period can be treated as a foreign person under FIRB rules and should confirm their position before signing a contract. The questions that actually shape a New York file are compensation structure and lender fit, and this page covers both.
How much of a USD salary will an Australian lender count?
Commonly around 80 per cent of net salary, since US dollars sit on the preferred currency lists, with overtime, allowances and bonuses now accepted at select lenders. On New York tech and finance packages the RSU component is read very differently across credit teams, so policies differ enough between lenders to move the budget by six figures.
Do I need to fly back to Australia to buy?
No. Inspections run by video and local eyes, contracts sign electronically in most cases, and settlement completes electronically between your conveyancer and lender. From New York the fourteen-hour gap behind Melbourne shapes call scheduling rather than preventing it, and the step-by-step mechanics are in our main overseas buying guide.
What documents do I need from New York?
An employment contract or employer letter, three months of bank statements showing salary credits, and two recent payslips no older than about 60 days, with extra evidence for bonus or allowance income. New York payslips and contracts are typically issued in English, which keeps the document file straightforward, and where compensation is heavy on RSUs, lenders that count them look at vested and sold equity over the past one to two years.
Will my New York bonus count towards an Australian loan?
At select lenders, yes: foreign bonuses, commission and incentives are now accepted in servicing, evidenced by bank statements showing the credits plus employer letters or payslips covering the most recent year. In New York packages the salary usually carries the servicing while bonus and RSU income is read lender by lender, and the differences on averaging and haircuts are part of the matching exercise.
Will buying property in Australia change my tax residency?
Ownership on its own does not move the needle on Australian tax residency, which is assessed on the broader picture of ties and intentions. The clean play is a registered tax professional across the file before you exchange, particularly with a move home from New York possible within a few years.
When should I convert my USD savings into Australian dollars?
There is no right day, and predicting one is gambling: the five-year USD to AUD spread above left about $42,610 riding on the timing of a US$150,000 deposit, which argues for staging transfers rather than converting everything at once. Lenders also want deposit funds traceable and seasoned, so the movement plan belongs early in the process, not settlement week.
My compensation is heavy on RSUs. How do lenders read that from New York?
Very differently by lender: some count vested-and-sold equity averaged over one to two years, some apply haircuts, and some ignore it entirely. For US tech and finance packages the RSU treatment frequently decides the budget, which makes lender matching the first move rather than the last.
I already own a property in Australia. Can I refinance or release equity from New York?
Yes, at select lenders: refinancing and equity release run remotely from New York on the same shaded USD assessment as a purchase, with base salary carrying the servicing and RSU or bonus income read lender by lender. Equity released from an existing Australian property can fund the deposit on the next one, subject to serviceability across both loans, current valuations and LVR caps, and the structuring is worth mapping with a broker before you commit.
Can I refinance my Australian investment property from New York if it is rented out?
In most cases, yes. Lenders weigh the Australian rental income together with your New York income, and an investment loan left on an old rate for years is usually the first thing worth testing. The refinance runs remotely on the same USD assessment covered on this page, and no FIRB approval is needed to refinance a property you already own.
New York to Melbourne is one conversation. Start it tonight, your time.
Your USD salary through the right lender’s eyes, your real budget in both currencies, and the whole purchase run remotely by former bankers. No cost, no obligation.
Book a chat with a former bankerThe people behind Everstone
You’re trusting someone with one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make. Here’s who you’ll actually be working with.
Ahmed Lotfi
A former major-bank lender who now works entirely for you. Ahmed handles structuring, refinancing and investment lending across the 40+ lender panel.
Zappelin Heng
Co-founder with deep lender experience, focused on getting complex and self-employed files assessed on their real strength, not a tick-box.
About the author. Ahmed Lotfi is co-founder of Everstone Finance and a former banker who now works as a mortgage and finance broker in South Yarra, Melbourne, arranging home, investment and commercial lending for Australians at home and abroad. Everstone Finance operates under the Best Interests Duty as Credit Representative 574314 of LMG Broker Services Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 517921.