In response to the person who asked, my property manager charges 5.5% + GST.
I am a big proponent of property investment. To me it gives me a sense of security knowing that tenants are generating passive income which I will eventually retire off. The negative gearing thingo is just the cherry on top (though its use has now been severely curtailed since you can't claim depreciation on existing plant any more, meaning you can't now generate ridiculous depreciation claims to drop your wage income, which was the main point of NG).
I've got one property paid off and am paying off the other, and looking to buy my third within a few years. When I bought my second property a little while ago I managed to get my bank manager to do a few sneaky favours - I won't mention them here (they did not relate to serviceability) - but I don't think you can do that any more in the wake of the Royal Commission. Shame. I think the main effect of the RC is to make everyone's mortgage a little smaller, which will no doubt flow on to property prices, though I think the effect will be modest, and mainly felt around the margins.
I think we are seeing a shift in society from one where most families can afford a house to one where some can afford to pay and some can only afford to rent. That probably explains why property prices have detached from median incomes - because the median family is now perhaps renting rather than buying. So, while I think there is not much room for real property growth (beyond the rest of the market) in future, I don't see it shifting down in real terms either, after this current correction which is mostly produced by structural reforms. I guess I could be wrong though - if they make taxation of IPs more and more punitive that will damage house prices and I might have to look at other ways of generating passive income instead.
I would advocate property (under the existing rules - caveat) as a good conservative investment though - tenants will always need a roof over their heads. Buy in good areas and vet your tenants carefully.