Business owners have a new date to think about. From 1 July 2027, the way capital gains are taxed in Australia changes, and the value of a business on that date will matter to many owners whenever they eventually sell. That makes the next eight months the best opportunity in years for brokers to start conversations about value.
It arrives at a time when brokers need every edge they can get. Interest rates are at an 18-year high, buyers are more selective and good listings are scarce. This article covers what's changing, why it opens the door to every owner in your database, and how to use MantisProperty to find the owners who are ready to talk.
A tighter market for business sales
The business sales market has held up better than residential property, but it has tightened through 2026.
On 3 November, the RBA lifted the cash rate for the fifth time this year to 4.85%, the highest level since November 2008. Higher rates make acquisition finance more expensive and push buyers to look harder at cash flow and their ability to service debt.
Volumes have softened too. Bsale data showed 607 businesses marked as sold in the March quarter, down from 733 in the December quarter, although the average advertised sale price rose 22.2% to $595,000. Xcllusive's Q2 2026 market report found listings holding near multi-year lows, while average buyer enquiries per listing ran below the long-run average in April, May and June. Well-prepared businesses with strong financial records attracted most of the qualified interest, and poorly documented listings felt the slowdown first.
For brokers, that adds up to two challenges: winning the listings that do come to market, and getting each one in front of serious buyers quickly.
What changes on 1 July 2027, and what doesn't
The capital gains tax changes announced in the May federal budget are now law. Here's the short version for business owners.
What changes:
- From 1 July 2027, the general 50% CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships is replaced with indexation of the cost base for inflation, plus a 30% minimum tax rate on capital gains.
- Companies don't get the 50% discount now, so the change mainly affects owners who hold their business as individuals, through trusts or in partnerships.
What doesn't change:
- The four small business CGT concessions stay: the 15-year exemption, the 50% active asset reduction, the retirement exemption and the rollover. Treasury says over 90% of active small businesses are eligible for all four.
- Growth in a business's value before 1 July 2027 keeps the old 50% discount, no matter when the business is eventually sold.
- The turnover threshold for the 50% active asset reduction rises from $2 million to $10 million from 1 July 2027, bringing more businesses within reach of it.
In other words, this is not a reason for owners to rush to sell. Many will get much the same outcome selling in 2028 as they would today. But it is a reason for owners to know what their business is worth. For owners who aren't fully covered by the small business concessions, the gain on a future sale will be split between growth before and after 1 July 2027, and advisers are recommending a documented market value at that date.
Every owner's situation is different, so business owners should get advice from their accountant or tax adviser before making any decisions. Your role as a broker is to help them understand the value of their business, not to give tax advice.
Why this is the best prospecting conversation in years
Most prospecting calls to business owners start with some version of "are you thinking of selling?" Most owners say no, and the conversation ends there.
The 1 July 2027 change gives you a better opening. "Do you know what your business would be worth on 1 July 2027?" is a useful question for almost every owner in your database, whether they plan to sell next year or in ten years. It's specific, it has a date attached and it's genuinely in the owner's interest.
For tax purposes, some owners will need a formal valuation from their accountant or a qualified valuer. A broker's market appraisal is often where that conversation starts, and every appraisal you complete before the date builds a relationship with an owner who now trusts your view of their business. When they're ready to sell, you're the broker they call.
1. Find the owners getting ready to sell
Your database already holds the signs. The owner who opened your last three market emails. The contact who requested an appraisal two years ago and has just started clicking again. The past buyer who keeps opening your listing alerts years after their purchase.
MantisProperty's seller and buyer signals bring that activity together automatically. MantisProperty watches email opens and clicks, enquiries and appraisal requests across your whole database, then flags contacts as hot or warm sellers and buyers. Every reason is listed on the contact's Activity tab, so you know exactly why an owner has been flagged before you call.
You can also search by Seller Interest to build a targeted audience for a campaign, rather than emailing your entire database and hoping for the best.
2. Make the right calls every morning
Each morning, every broker gets a Who to call today list under Leads > Call Lists. It shows the contacts most worth phoning, with the reason for each in plain words, such as asked for an appraisal or clicked the appraisal link. You never start a call without knowing why you're making it.
Logging the outcome takes one click: Spoke, No answer or Left message. You can snooze a contact for a week or create a follow-up task without leaving the list. Anyone phoned in the last week, or marked Do Not Call, stays off the list automatically, so your most valuable relationships aren't over-contacted.
The list is on your dashboard and in the Mantis Broker app, so you can work through it between meetings and site visits. See how call lists work in more detail.
3. Run a 1 July 2027 appraisal campaign
Put those tools together and you have a simple campaign you can run between now and mid-2027:
- Search your database by Seller Interest to build your audience.
- Send an email explaining the 1 July 2027 change in plain terms, with a clear call to action to request an appraisal.
- When a contact clicks the appraisal link, MantisProperty pushes them to their broker within the hour as a possible seller, while the owner is still thinking about it.
- Contacts who open and click without requesting an appraisal show up as warm sellers on the call list, ready for a follow-up call.
- Track every request through to a completed appraisal with appraisals management.
Repeat it every quarter with a fresh angle as the date gets closer. Owners who weren't ready to talk in December may well be ready in April.
4. Work the selective buyer
With buyers more selective and enquiry spread thinner, the brokers who close deals are the ones who know which buyers are serious. Buyer signals flag contacts who keep enquiring and clicking through your listing alerts as hot or warm buyers, so you can spend your time on qualified buyers instead of treating every enquiry the same.
Searching by Buyer Interest lets you match those buyers to new listings as soon as they come on. That shortens campaigns and gives vendors confidence that their business is going straight to people who are ready to act.
5. For principals: see where the next listings are coming from
If you run a brokerage, you need to know whether your team is doing the activity that produces listings, not just counting the listings that arrive.
The Engagement report, under Reports > Engagement Report, shows the share of your database that's engaging and how that's trending, hot and warm sellers and buyers by broker, email open and click rates, and call list follow-through. Every Monday morning, the weekly opportunity report emails your chosen staff the contacts most likely to sell and buy, the week's new appraisal requests and how each broker followed up. Find out more about reporting in MantisProperty.
Built for business brokers
Brokers regularly tell us the CRM they use is a real estate system first, with business broking bolted on. MantisProperty supports business broking throughout, from prospecting and appraisals to sales and the Mantis Broker app.
Plans start from $245 a month including GST, with a master user plus 10 additional users, no setup fee and no lock-in contract. Compare all plans.
The 1 July 2027 date gives every owner in your database a reason to talk about value. MantisProperty tells you which ones are ready.
Start your free 14-day trial with no credit card required, or book a demo and we'll show you how seller and buyer signals can work for your brokerage.