Revealed: SA’s most expensive suburbs — and our most affordable

HOUSE and unit prices have been steadily climbing across SA in the past ten years. We’ve crunched the numbers to reveal the most expensive suburbs now compared to a decade ago — and where you can still nab a bargain in metropolitan Adelaide.

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A LOT can change in 10 years, particularly when you look at what it takes to keep a roof over your head.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, crunched by The Advertiser as part of our Cost of Living: Decade of Difference series, show South Australians are spending 30 per cent more on rent each week than they were 10 years ago.

New homes cost, on average, 16.3 per cent more than a decade ago, while, concerningly, property rates and charges have increased by 77.6 per cent.

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Greg Troughton said he held “grave concerns” over the dramatic increase in rates and charges.

“As affordable as we are here, buying and running a home is incredibly difficult, and we’ve got to continue in this state to strive to do better than to rest on the laurels of what we’ve done for the past few decades – and that’s overly taxing the cash cow called property,” Mr Troughton said.

“This is unacceptable and it’s not as if we’ve seen really significant wage growth, so we’re calling for some efficiencies to be found such that living in a house doesn’t become an impost like buying a house does.”

According to CoreLogic data, Adelaide’s median house price has increased by $125,000 over the past 10 years.

Our median house price currently sits at $455,000, and our unit price is $380,000.

This time in 2007, our median house price was $330,000 and the median unit price was $269,000.

Our most expensive suburbs are Medindie at more than $1.706 million, and Unley Park at more than $1.611 million.

Coincidentally, they were the number one and two ranked properties this time in 2007.

Our most affordable suburbs continue to be found in the north, with Elizabeth’s seven suburbs dominating the list.

Toop&Toop chairman Anthony Toop said Adelaide’s modest, steady house price growth over the past years, in contrast with the peaks and troughs of Melbourne and Sydney, was our strength.

“Our relative position to the rest of the country is very strong for continued growth, and the fact that we haven’t seen that doubling of prices that you historically would over a decade shows we’re not overcooked, and it shows it’s safe,” Mr Toop says.

“The average first homebuyer and person can feel very comfortable and confident to just get on with it.

“Adelaide’s strong, safe, not necessarily spectacular, but if we see a slight lift in corporate activity we could see the top end of Adelaide do some pretty sensational things.”

Mr Toop said SA’s embracing of apartment living had been great for the state, and that, despite rising prices, first homebuyers could still get good value for money if they are prepared to move a little further out from the city.

Jade Eley and his wife Julia Terzic outside their Parkside home, which they are now selling. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Plan 4 Financial Group financial adviser Jade Eley and his wife Julia Terzic, 33 and 31, are currently selling their Parkside home at 14 St Anns Place to upgrade to a bigger family home in Auldana.

Mr Eley said the couple loved Parkside, but weren’t prepared to stretch themselves too thin by paying the high prices needed to buy the kind of larger family home they were after there.

“I’ve got an eye on our budget and finances and to me, not putting us under too much financial strain is big on my agenda,” Mr Eley said.

“I know people that are paying $1 million-plus mortgages on wages that can only just support that.

“It’s not going to take much for interest rates to come up from the historic lows we’re seeing now and that’s going to put them under serious strain, and I didn’t want to be one of them.”