Most articles about property management fees will tell you to “ask for a full breakdown” and leave it there. This one publishes ours.
If you own an investment property on Brisbane’s southside, the difference between a good fee structure and a poor one is around $1,300 in your first year — and most of that gap is not in the headline percentage everybody argues about. It is in the add-ons underneath.
Here is what agencies actually charge in 2026, what the extras really cost you, and exactly what we charge at Astnd Property.
The headline number: management fees
The management fee is a percentage of the rent your property manager collects, deducted before the balance reaches you.
In Brisbane, the typical range in 2026 is 6% to 9% of gross rent, plus GST. Some agencies advertise below 6%; a few charge above 9%.
On a property renting at $650 a week — around the median for Calamvale, Runcorn and Sunnybank — that percentage translates into real money:
| Management fee | Annual cost on $650/week |
|---|---|
| 6% | $2,028 |
| 7% | $2,366 |
| 8% | $2,704 |
| 9% | $3,042 |
The gap between 6% and 9% is $1,014 a year, every year you own the property. Over a five-year hold, that is more than $5,000.
But the percentage is only where the comparison starts.
The fees that do not make the advertisement
This is where the real differences hide, and where a “cheap” 5.5% agency can end up costing more than a 6% one.
Letting fee
Charged each time a new tenant is placed. The Brisbane norm is one to two weeks’ rent plus GST. On $650 a week, that is a $650 difference between an agency charging one week and one charging two — each time the property is re-let.
Lease renewal fee
Charged when an existing tenant signs on for another term. Practice varies enormously: some agencies charge a full week’s rent for what is largely paperwork, some charge half, some charge nothing.
Marketing and advertising
Photography, listing on the major portals, and a signboard. Some agencies quote a fixed package. Others bill “at cost”, and the cost turns out to be several hundred dollars.
Administration and statement fees
A monthly charge, often $5 to $12, for issuing your statement. It sounds trivial — it is $60 to $144 a year for an automated email.
Technology fees
A more recent addition. Some agencies now pass on the cost of their own software as a per-property monthly charge.
Routine inspection fees
Most agencies include a set number each year. Some charge for any beyond that. Worth checking how many you actually get — an uninspected property is an expensive property.
Maintenance markups
Some agencies add 10% to 15% on top of tradespeople’s invoices. On a $2,000 hot water system replacement, that is an extra $200 to $300 you may never see itemised.
What Astnd Property charges
We publish this because we think you are entitled to it before you pick up the phone, not after.
| Fee | What we charge |
|---|---|
| Management fee | 6% + GST of rent collected |
| Letting fee | 1 week’s rent |
| Lease renewal fee | Half a week’s rent |
| Marketing package | $120 |
| Routine inspections | 4 per year, included |
| Administration fee | Nil |
| Monthly statement fee | Nil |
| Technology fee | Nil |
| Hidden or incidental fees | None |
That is the whole schedule. There is not a second page.
What that means in real money
Here is a comparison on a $650-per-week property, in the first year of a new tenancy, against an agency charging at the middle of the Brisbane range.
| Astnd Property | Typical agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Management fee | 6% — $2,028 | 8% — $2,704 |
| Letting fee | 1 week — $650 | 2 weeks — $1,300 |
| Monthly admin | Nil | $10/month — $120 |
| Year one total | $2,798 | $4,124 |
A difference of $1,326 in the first year, and around $676 every year after that.
Two things worth saying honestly about this comparison. It assumes one new tenancy in year one — if your tenant stays put, the letting fee does not apply to either agency and the gap narrows to the management fee difference. And “typical agency” is exactly that: some charge less, some charge considerably more. The point is not that everyone else is expensive. It is that the headline percentage is roughly half the story.
How to compare agencies properly
When you are weighing up property managers, ask each of them the same five questions and write the answers down:
- What is your management fee, and is that inclusive or plus GST? A 6% + GST fee and a 6.6% inclusive fee are the same number. Make sure you are comparing like with like.
- What is the letting fee, and the lease renewal fee?
- What will marketing cost, as a number? Not “at cost” — a figure.
- List every other fee I will be charged in a year. Administration, statements, technology, inspections, lease preparation, tribunal attendance, end-of-financial-year statements.
- Do you add a margin to maintenance invoices?
If any answer is vague, ask again. An agency that will not put its fee schedule in writing before you sign is telling you something useful.
Cheap is not the same as good value
It would be self-serving to argue that fees do not matter — we charge less than most, so of course we would rather you compared. But it is worth being straight: the fee is the second most important thing.
The most important is whether your property is rented, to a good tenant, at the right price, with problems handled before they become expensive.
A property manager charging 5.5% who takes three extra weeks to fill a vacancy has cost you around $1,950 on a $650-a-week property — wiping out several years of fee savings in a single letting. One who does not inspect properly, or lets arrears drift, can cost you considerably more than that.
Judge a property manager on vacancy periods, arrears rates, how quickly they answer the phone, and what their landlords say about them. Then, once you have narrowed it to agencies you would trust with the asset, compare the fees.
Thinking about switching?
If you already have a property manager and this article has prompted you to check your statement, two things are worth knowing.
You are almost certainly not locked in. Most Queensland management agreements can be ended with notice, and there is usually no exit fee.
The changeover is not your job. We handle the notice, collect the file, keep the tenancy running and make sure there is no gap in rent. You sign one form. You can read more on our switch your property manager page.
Get a free rental appraisal
If you would like to know what your property should be earning, and see exactly what our fees would cost you on your property, we will put both in writing.
No obligation, no pressure, and the fee schedule you have just read is the one you will get.
Call (07) 3544 1273 or request a free rental appraisal online.
Astnd Property manages residential and commercial properties across Brisbane’s southside — Calamvale, Sunnybank, Sunnybank Hills, Runcorn, Stretton, Eight Mile Plains, Algester, Parkinson, Forest Lake, Acacia Ridge, Underwood, Wishart and surrounding suburbs.
