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Gold vs Rental Property — liquidity or leveraged income?

Gold is easy to buy, sell, and store. A rental property lets you use leverage (a home loan) and earn rental income, but with real illiquidity and management overhead. Compare both on the same capital.

Run it on your own numbers

Gold Calculator vs Rental Property — 15-year comparison

Opens Compare Lab pre-loaded with both, in your own currency — adjust any input and the chart updates instantly.

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Gold Calculator
Rental Property
How each one actually works
Gold

Physical or digital gold, valued by weight at the prevailing market price, plus making charges and GST on physical purchases.

PROS
✓Globally liquid — can be sold almost anywhere, quickly
✓Tends to hold or gain value during market stress, a useful hedge
✓No counterparty risk on physical gold
CONS
✕No income or yield — return comes purely from price appreciation
✕Making charges and GST reduce the effective return on physical gold
✕Storage and security are a real practical concern

Best for: A smaller diversifying allocation (typically 5–15% of a portfolio) as an inflation and crisis hedge, not a primary growth holding.

Rental Property

A residential property purchased (often with a home loan) to generate rental income alongside potential appreciation.

PROS
✓Produces ongoing rental income, not just appreciation
✓Loan leverage lets you control an asset larger than your cash alone
✓A tangible asset with a well-established resale market
CONS
✕Vacancy periods and maintenance reduce net income below the headline rent
✕Illiquid — selling takes time and incurs transaction costs
✕Loan interest and upkeep are real, ongoing costs

Best for: Investors who want income plus appreciation and are prepared to actively manage a physical asset (or pay someone to).

Questions
Can I get leverage on gold the way I can on property?

Not in the same way — while gold loans exist, they're typically short-term and don't let you buy more gold with borrowed money the way a home loan lets you buy a larger property than your cash alone would.

Where do these numbers actually come from?

The same calculation engine that powers our standalone calculators and Compare Lab — nothing here is a separate or simplified estimate. Every assumption (rate, tenure, tax) is visible and adjustable once you open the comparison with your own numbers.

All figures are illustrative projections based on the assumptions you select, not guaranteed returns. Validate tax and scheme rules before making financial decisions.