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For Garrett and Vicky McDuling, the idea of ​​home ownership in Brisbane has changed from aspiration to an urgency.

Both in their 40s, the couple are raising two children – Grace, 6, and Cooper, 15 – while working in important roles: Garrett as a school teacher, Vicky as a patient care nurse.

They are currently renting in Victoria Point, where the median house price now sits at just over $1m, the average weekly rent is around $1,000, and the average rent is around $750 a week.

“Everything seems to be going up – except for our wages,” Mr McDuling said. “Our salaries are not increasing with the cost of living, and they are not keeping up with the rent.”

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Originally from Brisbane, the couple previously owned a property in Perth, buying it for around $700,000 – a home now worth around $2m.

“The plan was to keep coming back to Brisbane,” Mr McDuling said. “But we didn’t know where we wanted to settle, so we rented in different places to try it out – places like the ones we had in Perth.”

That search included suburbs like Thornlands, but the experience quickly became a financial drain. “Every six months the rent has been going up,” he said.

“In the end, we were paying almost $1,000 a week. Now we’re in a small house – we’re cutting back on purpose – to try to save again.”

Garrett McDuling and children, Grace, 6, and Cooper, 15, are not renting, but looking to buy. Photo: Steve Pohlner.

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The relocation of people during Covid, travel expenses, school expenses, and daily living expenses have depleted the deposits they were able to build. Renting was the only viable option – but not a comfortable one.

“We are not like young people who can live with family (but we save),” he said. “We can’t keep renting forever. We’re paying someone else’s mortgage instead of our own.”

The couple know that buying at Victoria Point will be out of reach, so they are now looking further afield, with the suburbs of Redland Bay and Mount Cotton emerging as viable options.

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Their requirements are practical, not desires. “It has to be a house,” said Mr McDuling. “We know we can’t afford a swimming pool, but we want a small place, a place to build or improve over time. This has to be our forever home this time.”

Logistics is also important. Their son attends John Paul College, Garrett teaches in Cleveland, and stability is now a priority.

Their story reflects the wider change being played out across Queensland. A new analysis from comparison site Finder shows there are still less than 300 places across the state where it’s cheaper to own a home than to rent.

Lisa Evans, buyer’s agent for Verve Property. Image provided.

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However, most of those areas are regional or rural, with only a small number of suburbs in Brisbane now offering lower mortgage returns than the median rent.

At the same time, Brisbane’s median rent rose to $670 a week, according to PropTrack.

Buyer’s agent Lisa Evans of Vervé Property describes renting in Brisbane as “an endless tax on future wealth”.

Even after accounting for ‘holding costs’ such as rates and body corporate, Ms Evans said the wealth of a home owner in some suburbs is growing six figures ahead of a renter.

“For many years, the safe advice in Brisbane was to ‘rent and wait’ for a market correction, but in 2026, that strategy has been a costly mistake,” Ms Evans said.

“The real divide in Brisbane today is not between the suburbs.

“In a market with a 0.7 percent vacancy rate, ownership is not just a lifestyle, it’s a strategic hedge against the rental market that ‘protects against inflation’ for homeowners while costing renters.”