Tayla Rachel rents in Sydney and bought her first home in Springfield Lakes, QLD, one of the nation’s next top million-dollar markets. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
Tayla Rachel used a popular strategy to get a foot on the property ladder, but the 29-year-old fears proposed tax changes pitched as a lifeline for young buyers will instead derail her future plans.
The Sydney tech executive is part of a growing wave of Gen Z “rentvestors” who have given up on buying in their home city, choosing to rent where they want to live while investing interstate.
Currently renting an apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Ms Rachel cast her eyes north to Queensland to get ahead financially.
Ms Rachel used the popular rentvesting strategy to get into the property market. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
“Sydney property prices are crazy, so to purchase a property on my own would be near impossible, especially where I want to live in the eastern suburbs,” she said.
In September 2025, she purchased a three-bedroom house in the booming south-west Brisbane suburb of Springfield Lakes for $800,000, immediately renting it out for $650 a week.
Using buyer’s agent Lauren Jones, she secured the property sight unseen, banking on Brisbane’s upcoming Olympic infrastructure boom.
Ms Jones said the suburb was a prime target due to its strong demographics, transport links to the CBD, and major local employment hubs including a hospital and university.
“The prices in Springfield Lakes have generally represented good value for money, and the newer style of home tends to appeal to investors wanting a low-maintenance investment,” Ms Jones said.
Ms Rachel fears the proposed investor tax changes have derailed her long-term goal. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
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Ms Rachel’s investment has already paid dividends.
Springfield Lakes was among Australia’s top 10 next million-dollar hotspots in the June 2026 Million Dollar Hotspots report, with the suburb’s median house price rocketing to $910,000 on the back of 15 per cent annual growth.
Springfield Lakes has a tight vacancy rate of 1.0 per cent and rental yield of 3.5 per cent, making it a prime target for out-of-state investors.
“This is my first property, so I didn’t realise how much growth I would get so quickly,” Ms Rachel said.
A four-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Springfield Lakes just sold for $1.12m
But despite her early success, Ms Rachel fears her long-term goal of leveraging that capital growth to fund a primary residence in Sydney has been derailed.
Changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax due to be introduced in 2027 were sold by the federal government as measures to level the playing field for first-home buyers.
Instead, they have left young rentvestors like Ms Rachel in limbo.
“My plan was always to buy more investment properties and then eventually, once I’ve made enough money off those, to buy my own property,” she said.
“The new budget…has made it a lot harder. To be honest, I don’t know what I am going to do.
“I know the government has said they are wanting to help young people own a home, but I know a lot of people who were going down the same route as I was with rentvesting first, so this is going to impact them negatively.”
This three-bedroom home in Springfield Lakes is listed to rent at $650 a week
Ms Jones warned the impending tax reforms had already frozen many young Aussies out of the market.
“Prior to the budget, I was helping many first-home buyers rentvest,” Ms Jones said.
“The banks generally lend more when the property is an investment as they factor in the rental income.
“Unfortunately, since the budget, I have been speaking to many first-home buyers who were hoping to rentvest, but now are unable to. They are unable to buy where they want to live, and also to buy an investment-grade property.
“This budget just does not help buyers like Tayla whose only real option was to rentvest – they are now entirely out of the property game.”
For those still trying to break in, Ms Jones said it was crucial not to compromise on fundamentals, warning that young buyers may have to look further out to get on the ladder.
“I think in very expensive markets like Sydney, many first-home buyers will be impacted and potentially never be able to buy a home there,” she said.
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