Realestate.com.au research reveals the South Australian regional locations you should be investing in right now

Plenty of people are making the move to SA’s regions, prompting massive demand for rentals. Realestate.com.au research reveals the 15 towns you should be investing in right now.

Ray White Mount Gambier principal Tahlia Gabrielli overlooking one of the regional locations tipped as a place to invest now – Mount Gambier. Picture Frank Monger

The Sunday Mail in partnership with realestate.com.au today brings you Make Your Move, a data-based guide to property investing. Today we reveal the 15 top performing South Australian regional suburbs for capital gains, rental yields and rental demand.

A new report has revealed the top South Australian regional suburbs or towns to invest in right now.

The data from realestate.com.au analysed all regional locations to compile a list of 15 hot spots ripe for investment, based on demand, historical capital growth and rental yield.

Among the regional properties identified in the report, Naracoorte, in the state’s southeast, was the clear winner for 20-year value growth, with median prices in the suburb increasing by 620.6 per cent over the past 20 years to $245,000. In 2001, Naracoorte’s median sale price – from 135 sales – was $34,000. The average land size was 8000sqm and each home had 2.9 bedrooms on average. The average block size of homes sold last year was 22,000sqm, and homes were larger at 3.2 bedrooms.

Risdon Park houses – in Port Pirie – return the highest regional yield of any regional properties, with owners netting 8.6 per cent rental yield on average. Berri houses, on the other hand, were the clear leaders for 10 year capital growth, with values up 55.4 per cent to $230,000.

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Barry Money said vacancy rates is SA’s regional areas are the lowest they’ve ever been.

“Investors from both metropolitan Adelaide and interstate are looking to buy at record levels and we’re seeing many interstate investors buying sight unseen,” he said.

“On the Eyre Peninsula, 50 per cent of sales are going to local buyers, whereas the other 50 per cent are going to overseas buyers.

“In Renmark we’re seeing 15 per cent of sales to people moving out from metro Adelaide and another 15 per cent are from interstate investors.

“And in the Riverland there are more people wanting to rent than there are properties for them, so the challenge is how do you drive supply to those markets.

“Now is a really great time, from a supply-ability point of view, to get into the market.”

Both Mount Gambier houses and units were tipped as properties that should be on investors radars, with the median price of units in the southeastern regional city increasing 9.9 per cent over the past 10 years, and 25 per cent over the past 20 years to $200,000. Houses performed even better, with values up 18.8 per cent for the decade, and 78.1 per cent over the past 20 years to a median of $285,000.

Ray White Mount Gambier principal Tahlia Gabrielli overlooking one of the regional locations tipped as a place to invest now – Mount Gambier. Picture Frank Monger

Ray White Mount Gambier principal Tahlia Gabrielli said rentals in the city and surrounds were more in-demand than ever.

“We’ve always been known as a good place for investment because we’ve always had really good rent returns,” she said.

“We’re such an affordable place to buy into and a really stable market too.

“Mount Gambier is supported by really strong industries in forestry and fishing, so there are really good employment opportunities here and there’ll always be people coming to the area.”