If it feels like rent has gone up faster than your patience for the rental market, the data backs you up. National vacancy rates have been sitting at around 1.0–1.2% through early-to-mid 2026 — anything under 1% is considered an acute shortage, and every capital city remains below 2%. Annual rent growth has reaccelerated to roughly 5.7–6.6% depending on the measure, after easing through parts of 2025.
For renters, that pressure is real and it’s not a “wait it out” situation — construction still isn’t keeping pace with population growth, and demand for quality rentals is outstripping supply in most areas. But the answer to “so should I buy?” isn’t a simple yes. It depends on your life stage, financial position and goals more than what the market’s doing this quarter.
When buying may suit you
If you’ve got stable income, a consistent savings habit, and a deposit approaching 10% (plus a genuine buffer for costs beyond settlement), buying can be a meaningful step. Ownership can mean escaping recurring rent increases, more long-term stability, and the chance to build equity instead of paying down someone else’s mortgage. It tends to suit people planning to stay put for five years or more — long enough to ride out any short-term market noise and let repayments and equity do their work.
When rentvesting might fit better
Rentvesting — renting where you actually want to live, while buying an investment property somewhere you can afford — is a legitimate middle ground, not a compromise. It can suit people who are early in their career or whose income and location needs are likely to shift, and who are comfortable managing both a rental payment and an investment loan at once. It’s particularly relevant if the area you want to live in has stretched well beyond what your budget supports for ownership, but you don’t want to sit out of the property market altogether. Some rentvestors use an offset account on the investment loan to reduce interest paid while keeping funds accessible for emergencies or planned expenses — worth discussing with your accountant given the income and cost implications an investment property carries.
When staying put is the right call
There’s no rule that says you have to buy property by a certain age or income level, and pretending otherwise leads people into loans they can’t comfortably sustain. If your deposit is still building, your income is variable, or rising living costs have eaten into your buffer, staying in the rental market for now can be the more sensible option — not a failure to launch. That time is far more useful spent paying down high-interest or short-term debt, building a stronger emergency fund or deposit, and tightening up your spending than it is spent anxiously scrolling listings you can’t yet afford.
Timing the market vs. timing your life
Trying to perfectly time the property market is notoriously difficult and, for most people, unsuccessful — prices, rates and rents don’t move in your favour on command. What actually matters more is being financially prepared regardless of what the market’s doing: a reasonable buffer, a clear picture of your borrowing capacity, and a repayment level you can comfortably sustain if rates move. Once that groundwork is in place — genuine understanding of your borrowing capacity and current financial position — the choice between buying, rentvesting or staying put usually becomes a lot clearer, because it’s no longer a guess about the market, it’s a decision based on your numbers.
The takeaway
None of buying, rentvesting or staying put is inherently the “right” answer — each one solves a different problem depending on where you are financially and where you want to be in five years. The mistake isn’t picking the “wrong” option; it’s picking based on what the rental market is doing today instead of what your own numbers say.
General information only, current as at July 2026 — market data (vacancy rates, rent growth) will move over time and figures should be checked against current sources before making decisions. Investment property income, costs and tax treatment should be discussed with your accountant or tax adviser. Not personal financial advice.
