What a $50m Point Piper house costs to live in each year
About $247,281 a month, all in. On a hypothetical $50 million harbourside house in Point Piper, $246,027 a month is the mortgage repayment. Council rates, water, electricity and the commute add $1,254 a month between them, and council rates on an assumed $15,000,000 land value come to $5,679 a year.
Point Piper sits on a narrow peninsula between Rose Bay and Double Bay, and it is home to some of Sydney's most expensive houses. We took a hypothetical six bedroom harbourside house at $50 million and worked out what it costs to live in for a year, for a family of five with two people commuting to the CBD. The mortgage is exactly as enormous as you would expect. The council rates are not.
The running costs are the sliver at the right hand end, $15,046 of $2,967,368. Hover or tab to each segment for its value.
The mortgage is almost the whole bill
With a 20% deposit of $10,000,000, the loan is $40,000,000. At 6.24% over 30 years, principal and interest, the repayment is $246,027 a month, or $2,952,321 a year. That is 99.5% of everything this house costs to live in.
Not all of it is spent. In the first year about $2,482,720 of the repayments is interest and the rest reduces the loan. The 6.24% is the Reserve Bank's average rate on existing owner-occupier variable loans. A loan of this size would be negotiated privately, so the real rate could be higher or lower.
Council rates, the surprise
Point Piper is in Woollahra Municipal Council, and Woollahra works out rates from the land value, not the price. We have assumed a land value of $15,000,000. It is an assumption for illustration, set independently of the price. For comparison, recent NSW Valuer General land values for two harbourside blocks in Point Piper were $12,600,000 and $14,500,000.
| Part of the rates bill | Working | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Base amount | Paid by every residential property | $840 |
| Rate in the dollar | $15,000,000 × 0.02784c | $4,176 |
| Environmental and Infrastructure Renewal Levy | $112 + $15,000,000 × 0.00367c | $663 |
| Council rates | $5,679 |
That is about three times the Woollahra average of $1,894. The reason is structural. NSW caps how much rates income a council can raise in total, and Woollahra spreads its total across extraordinarily valuable land. Half of its residential rate income comes from the flat base amount, and the rate in the dollar, 0.02784c, is the lowest of the 55 NSW councils SuburbCost holds verified rates for. Next lowest is Mosman at 0.040207c.
The same rates notice carries two charges that are not rates. The domestic waste charge is $708 a year and the stormwater charge is $25, $733 together.
Water, power and the commute
Water and sewerage, $1,548 a year. Sydney Water charges $866 a year in fixed water and wastewater service charges whatever the house uses, plus $3.41 a kilolitre. The figure here is Sydney Water's typical house, 200 kilolitres a year. A family of five in a large house with a pool and garden will use more, and every extra 100 kilolitres adds $341.
Electricity, $3,592 a year, estimated. The Australian Energy Regulator's benchmark for a five person household in Sydney's climate zone is 9,008 kWh a year. Priced at the 2026-27 default market offer cap for the Ausgrid network, 33.1372 cents a kilowatt hour plus 166.2289 cents a day, it comes to $3,592. The benchmark describes a typical home. A six bedroom house with a heated pool, air conditioning throughout and outdoor lighting will use considerably more, and solar or a better retail plan would bring it down.
Two commutes, $3,494 a year, modelled. Point Piper is 4 kilometres from the CBD in a straight line. Two people driving there and back five days a week for 48 weeks, at the Australian Taxation Office rate of 91 cents a kilometre, comes to $1,747 each. By public transport it would be about $3,840 for the two of them. CBD parking is not included, and for two cars it could cost more than the driving.
The year in full
| Cost | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Council rates | $5,679 | $473 |
| Waste and stormwater | $733 | $61 |
| Water and sewerage | $1,548 | $129 |
| Electricity, estimated | $3,592 | $299 |
| Two commutes, modelled | $3,494 | $291 |
| Running costs | $15,046 | $1,254 |
| Mortgage repayment | $2,952,321 | $246,027 |
| All in | $2,967,368 | $247,281 |
What a house like this costs that these figures leave out
The total above is what can be worked out from published rates and prices. A harbourside house at this level carries a second layer of costs that depend entirely on the property and the people in it.
- Stamp duty. A one-off cost at purchase, roughly $3.4 million on $50 million at the NSW premium property rate. Revenue NSW's calculator gives the exact figure.
- Home and contents insurance. A house like this is insured with a specialist high value insurer, priced on rebuild cost, contents, art and waterfront risk. SuburbCost's typical Point Piper building insurance estimate does not apply at this level, so no figure is used.
- Maintenance. Often budgeted at 1% or more of the building's value each year, before anything major goes wrong.
- The waterfront. Licence fees for a private jetty, pontoon or boatshed, a mooring, and seawall upkeep.
- People and services. Pool maintenance, gardens and grounds, cleaning, and security monitoring.
- Land tax. Nothing while the house is the family's principal place of residence. If it ever became a second home or an investment, land tax would apply to a land value this size every year.
- The everyday. Gas, internet and phone, and CBD parking for the two commuters.
Work out your own council rates
Point Piper is an extreme, but the arithmetic is the same for every house in Woollahra. Enter a land value in the Woollahra rates calculator and it applies the council's own 2026-27 rate in the dollar, base amount and levy, with the working shown. There are calculators for 33 councils across NSW and Queensland, including Waverley, Mosman, North Sydney, Hunters Hill and Ku-ring-gai.
Open the Woollahra rates calculator
To see rates, water, electricity and the commute for any suburb together, use the cost of living calculator.
Method and assumptions
The property. Hypothetical. A six bedroom harbourside house in Point Piper at $50 million, with an assumed land value of $15,000,000. The land value is not derived from the price and neither figure describes a real property. No sale price, median or capital growth figure appears in this article.
The household. Five people, two of whom drive to the CBD five days a week.
Mortgage repayment. 6.24% over 30 years, principal and interest, with a 20% deposit. Source, Reserve Bank of Australia Statistical Table F6, lending rates on outstanding owner-occupier variable housing credit at 31 July 2026.
Council rates. Woollahra Municipal Council Operational Plan 2026-2027, rating structure p18: residential base amount $840, ad valorem 0.02784c in the dollar, and the Environmental and Infrastructure Renewal Levy of $112 plus 0.00367c in the dollar on all categories. The structure is based on the 2025 land valuation. Domestic waste $708 (p107) and stormwater $25 (p99) are shown separately.
Water. Sydney Water residential pricing 2026-27, fixed water and wastewater service charges plus 200 kilolitres at $3.41.
Electricity. An estimate. Australian Energy Regulator residential benchmark for a five person household in climate zone 5, priced at the AER Default Market Offer 2026-27 residential flat rate cap for Ausgrid, including GST. No controlled load, solar, pool pump or gas is modelled.
Commute. Modelled, not measured. Straight line distance to the CBD, return, five days a week for 48 weeks, at the ATO rate of 91 cents a kilometre, for each of two commuters. Road distance is longer than straight line, so this understates the drive.
Frequently asked questions
What would a $50m house in Point Piper cost to live in each year?
About $2,967,368 a year, or $247,281 a month, for a family of five with two people driving to the CBD and a 20% deposit. $2,952,321 of that is the mortgage repayment at 6.24% over 30 years. The other $15,046 is council rates, waste and stormwater charges, water, electricity and the two commutes. Insurance, maintenance and stamp duty are not included.
How much are council rates on a Point Piper house?
Point Piper is in Woollahra Municipal Council. For 2026-27 Woollahra charges a $840 base amount plus 0.02784c in the dollar of land value, and an Environmental and Infrastructure Renewal Levy of $112 plus 0.00367c in the dollar. On an assumed land value of $15,000,000 that comes to $5,679 a year, before the $708 domestic waste charge.
Why are council rates so low on such an expensive house?
NSW councils are limited in how much rates income they can raise in total, and Woollahra spreads that total across some of the most valuable land in Australia. Half of its residential rate income comes from a flat base amount paid by every property, and the other half from a rate in the dollar of 0.02784c. That is the lowest residential rate in the dollar of the 55 NSW councils SuburbCost holds verified rates for.
Is the purchase price used to calculate council rates?
No. NSW council rates are calculated from the land value issued by the NSW Valuer General, not from the sale price. The price in this article only sets the mortgage repayment. Woollahra rates 2026-27 on land values with a base date of 1 July 2025.
Cite this data
Data sources
Woollahra Municipal Council Operational Plan 2026-2027 (adopted 22 June 2026). NSW Valuer General land values. Sydney Water residential pricing 2026-27. Australian Energy Regulator residential benchmarks and Default Market Offer 2026-27 final determination. Reserve Bank of Australia Table F6. See data sources and methodology.
For how the rates line is built in any council, see how council rates are calculated. For ordinary houses rather than extraordinary ones, the same costs are worked through in what a $1.5m Sydney house costs to live in each year.