What does a first co-living project look like with $600,000 in cash or usable equity?

Answering: What does a first co-living project look like with $600,000 in cash or usable equity?

Estimated reading time: 8 min read

Harmony’s current model is a single product: the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom co-living property, with a minimum of $600,000 in cash, usable equity, or a combination of both, against a base project cost of $1,574,000 ($1,650,250 including additional considerations), returning around $179,010 a year in gross rent at an 11.36% gross yield on base project cost. Average figures based on most recent projects. There is no smaller or larger version to choose between: this guide sets out what that $600,000 minimum covers, why the model is built at nine rooms, and what to do next if you are not there yet.

Key Insights

• Harmony’s current model is one product: nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a minimum of $600,000 in cash, usable equity, or a combination of both, and a base project cost of $1,574,000 ($1,650,250 including additional considerations). Average figures based on most recent projects.
• There is no sizing spectrum to choose from. If your equity position is below $600,000, the honest next step is building toward it, not sizing down the product.

Keep reading for full details below.

Table of Contents

• What the $600,000 Minimum Covers
• Why Nine Rooms
• If You’re Not There Yet
• Closing
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Want to Learn More?
• Citations

What the $600,000 Minimum Covers

The $600,000 minimum is measured in cash, usable equity, or a combination of both, and it sits against a base project cost of $1,574,000, or $1,650,250 including additional considerations. Average figures based on most recent projects. Exactly how that minimum splits between deposit, acquisition costs and buffer depends on your lender and your own financial position; that split is modelled with you directly in a strategy session rather than estimated generically.

Most investors reach the minimum through a combination of usable equity from their existing home and cash, rather than cash savings alone. Usable equity is calculated as roughly 80% of your home’s current value minus your outstanding mortgage balance. The Useable Equity Calculator gives you a starting figure, and a broker experienced in co-living lending can confirm your actual position.

Against that entry, the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom model returns around $179,010 a year in gross rent, an 11.36% gross yield on base project cost. Average figures based on most recent projects. For comparison, a standard investment property at the same $1.5 million price point returns around $865 a week, or $45,000 a year, a 3% yield.

• Calculate your usable equity as roughly 80% of your home’s value minus your current loan balance
• Speak with a broker experienced in co-living lending to confirm how much of the $600,000 minimum you can reach today

Why Nine Rooms

Harmony builds one product because consistency is what makes the figures reliable. A single nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom specification, applied project after project, is what lets the team quote a genuine average: the $1,574,000 base project cost, the $179,010 a year in gross rent, the 11.36% gross yield, rather than a spread of different-sized properties each with its own economics. Average figures based on most recent projects.

The team’s 118-point method is used to select the property and location that support that specification consistently, rather than adjusting the specification to fit whatever property is available. That is also why there is no smaller configuration on offer: a different-sized property is a different product with different numbers, and Harmony does not build or quote against it.

• The nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom specification is fixed, not adjusted per investor or per site
• The governed figures above apply to that specification only, not to smaller configurations

If You’re Not There Yet

If your current cash and usable equity sit below $600,000, the honest answer is that you are not ready for a first Harmony project yet, and no amount of reframing the numbers changes that. What you can do now is build toward it.

Start with the Useable Equity Calculator to see where your equity position actually sits today, and the Budget Planner to understand how additional savings or debt reduction moves you toward the minimum. Property value growth, paying down your mortgage, and building cash savings all count toward the $600,000, whether that ends up being entirely usable equity, entirely cash, or a combination of both.

From there, book a strategy session. An honest assessment of your position, including how far you are from the minimum and what would need to change, is worth more than a project sized down to fit where you are today.

• Use the Useable Equity Calculator and Budget Planner to see your current position and what moves it
• Book a strategy session for an honest, specific assessment rather than a generic estimate

Closing

Harmony’s model is one product: nine bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a $600,000 minimum in cash, usable equity, or a combination of both, and a base project cost of $1,574,000 ($1,650,250 including additional considerations). Average figures based on most recent projects. There is no sizing spectrum to choose from. If you are there, or close to it, a strategy session will confirm your actual position. If you are not there yet, building your equity is the next step, not a smaller project.

For a deeper look, visit https://theharmonygroup.com.au/contact-us/

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I do a smaller co-living project if I don’t have the full $600,000?

A: No. Harmony’s current model is a single product, the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom co-living property, with a minimum of $600,000 in cash, usable equity, or a combination of both. There is no smaller configuration on offer. If you are below the minimum, the honest next step is building your equity position, not sizing the project down.

Q: What counts toward the $600,000 minimum?

A: Cash, usable equity from an existing property, or a combination of both. Usable equity is roughly 80% of your home’s current value minus your outstanding mortgage balance. Exactly how much of the minimum needs to be cash versus equity depends on your lender and your circumstances, and gets modelled with you directly.

Q: What does the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom property actually return?

A: Around $179,010 a year in gross rent against a base project cost of $1,574,000, an 11.36% gross yield on base project cost. Average figures based on most recent projects. For comparison, a standard investment property at the same $1.5 million price point returns around $865 a week, or $45,000 a year, a 3% yield.

Q: I’m not at $600,000 yet. What’s my first step?

A: Use the Useable Equity Calculator and the Budget Planner to see your current position and what would move it. Then book a strategy session for an honest assessment of where you stand and what needs to change before a first project makes sense.

Want to Learn More?

We’ve drawn on 15 years of collective team experience across 200+ high-yield property investment projects worth $810+ million to create this guide for Australian investors. Our approach prioritises your actual financial position over sales pressure: if you are not at the $600,000 minimum, we will say so directly.

Citations

• “Welcome to INVIDA”: INVIDA specialises in co-living property analysis and project vetting across Australia, providing investors with performance data and compliance assessments. https://invida.com.au/
• “Investing in Co-Living Property (Heaps Good Homes)”: This resource outlines pricing and rental yield expectations for co-living property across the Melbourne market. https://www.heapsgoodhomes.com.au/insights/investing-in-co-living-property
• “Co Living Property Investments Melbourne, Australia”: Co Living Property Investments Melbourne provides current market data on yields and occupancy performance across growth corridor suburbs. https://colivinghomes.au/

Co-living properties must meet Victorian Building Authority 1B certification requirements for Melbourne projects; equivalent regulatory frameworks apply in other states. Confirming compliance before acquisition is non-negotiable.

If you’d like to learn more, visit https://theharmonygroup.com.au/contact-us/ to explore how we approach co-living project sizing for investors with $600,000 in cash or usable equity.

Ready to move forward? A strategy session gives you an honest assessment of your position against the $600,000 minimum, no obligation, no pressure. If you are there, we will show you exactly what the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom model looks like for your situation. If you are not there yet, we will tell you that too, and what it would take to get there.