Key takeaway: After the 2026 Federal Budget changes, buyers, especially owner-occupiers and first home buyers, have more negotiating power. Jessica Giandomenico, founder of Vesta Buyer’s Agency, says Brisbane and Toowoomba open homes that drew 30 to 50 groups fell to around 10 from March, while first home buyers who were rentvesting have lost borrowing capacity under the negative gearing changes.
In this episode of Geared for Growth, Mike Mortlock is joined by Jessica Giandomenico, founder of Vesta Buyer’s Agency, who helps everyday Australians navigate the property market with clarity and confidence.
With major Federal Budget changes now locked in, the property landscape has shifted fast. From investor hesitation to renewed opportunity for owner-occupiers, Jessica shares what she’s seeing on the ground in Brisbane and Toowoomba, and what it means for buyers right now.
Is this the window first home buyers have been waiting for… or are there bigger trade-offs at play?
Jessica says it cuts both ways. The changes have opened the market to owner-occupiers, first home buyers and single-income buyers, with less competition and more flexible sellers. But many first home buyers she works with were rentvesting and relied on negative gearing to get in. She has heard of buyers who signed a rentvesting contract just after the announcement, then couldn’t get finance because their borrowing capacity had dropped by about $250,000.
Jessica doesn’t see a crash coming. She says recent media reports described Brisbane as dropping when the market was actually up about 0.3%, which she calls a very stable market. After a period of heat that made it almost impossible for first home buyers to get in, she sees the market stabilising. She also reminds buyers that prices dipped in 2022 when interest rates started rising, and says this feels reminiscent of that.
Jessica focuses on location and convenience. In Brisbane that starts with flood-free land, then accessibility and closeness to amenity and transport such as a train station, in areas predominantly lived in by owner-occupiers, with growing jobs and infrastructure. The property should be tenant ready, ideally with some value-add upside. She warns that a price reduction doesn’t make a property a good investment, and buyers shouldn’t chase something just because it feels like a bargain.
Jessica thinks Toowoomba probably has a bit more growth to go, although after moving rapidly over the last two years it is getting close to its peak. She says the fundamentals are there if you get the location right: good schools and hospitals, strong accessibility and amenity, infrastructure, and ties to several industries, so if one falls over the city won’t. It will also host some Olympic events.
This is general information from the podcast, not financial advice.
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