If you've lived in Mosman for a decade or more, you're sitting on one of the most powerful wealth-building assets in Australia. For many long-time homeowners, the family home has done the heavy lifting when it comes to wealth creation.
Now, as you reach the age of perhaps wanting to downsize, you can put that asset to work. The super downsizer scheme offers a practical way to unlock your equity and boost your retirement savings in a single move.
What is the super downsizer scheme?
The downsizer contribution allows eligible Australians aged 55 and over to contribute up to $300,000 each (or $600,000 per couple) from the proceeds of selling their family home directly into superannuation, outside the usual contribution caps.
This contribution doesn't count toward your non-concessional cap, so it won't cut across your existing super strategy. Think of it as an additional top-up that sits alongside everything you've already saved.
To qualify, you and/or your spouse must have owned the property for at least 10 years. If only one spouse is on the title, the other can still make a contribution provided the remaining conditions are met. The home must have been your primary residence at some point, and the contribution needs to be made within 90 days of settlement.
Why homeowners in Mosman should pay attention
The past 12 months have been softer, with Mosman house values down slightly on the year. But zoom out and the picture looks very different.
According to Cotality data, the current Mosman median house price is $5.87 million, after climbing 72.9% over the past decade. To put that in plain terms: a home worth $5.87 million today would have sold for around $3.39 million ten years ago. That's a gain of roughly $2.48 million, simply from holding.
Units have performed well, too. With a current median of $1.50 million and ten-year growth of 37.1%, a Mosman unit bought a decade ago for around $1.09 million has added roughly $406,000 in value.
None of that wealth-building required a smart investment call or extra hours at work. It came from owning a home in one of Australia's most consistently sought-after suburbs. And because it's a primary residence, the capital gain is tax-free.
That's the foundation the downsizer scheme builds on. A couple selling a Mosman house could put up to $600,000 of those proceeds straight into super, outside normal caps, where it gets to work immediately in a concessionally taxed environment. For most people, it would be the single largest super contribution of their lives, paid for entirely by the growth that the property generated on its own.
The real opportunity in 2026
The slight dip in values over the past year doesn’t need to be a reason to wait. If you have held a Mosman property for ten years, you might have seen $2.48 million in growth. A one-year softening of 1.2% is small by comparison.
Buyer demand on the Lower North Shore remains solid, and well-presented homes in Mosman, Cremorne and Neutral Bay continue to attract serious competition.
For homeowners who are starting to think about simplifying their lives – less maintenance, lower overheads, more time – the numbers line up well. Selling, making a downsizer contribution and moving into something more manageable in the same area you love could mean a better day-to-day life and a meaningfully stronger retirement position at the same time.
Is this the right move for you?
It depends on your situation, and it's worth talking through with your accountant and financial adviser before making any decisions. But if you're over 55, have owned your home for more than a decade and have started wondering what the next phase might look like, it's worth understanding what's available to you.
Ready to explore your options? The team at Richardson & Wrench Mosman/Neutral Bay knows this market well. We've helped plenty of local families work out their next move, and we're happy to start with an appraisal. Contact us on (02) 9969 7622 or info@rwm.com.au to find out what your property could do for your future.