Adelaide's suburbs where top property discounts are right now
Adelaide’s vendors are slashing the prices of homes by thousands of dollars in a win for bargain-hungry buyers. These are the suburbs where you’re most likely to save a fortune.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Millions fewer get JobSeeker help as government blames businesses
- Check out these subscriber-only specials, giveaways and prizes
Vendors are already parting with their homes for thousands of dollars less as Australia braces for a significant drop in property prices.
While home values have remained relatively stable through the coronavirus pandemic, experts predict they could fall by as much as 10 per cent in the future.
But buyers across the nation are already enjoying significant discounts of as much as $100,000 in some suburbs, which News Corp can reveal.
New data by leading Australian property platform realestate.com.au has revealed the top five suburbs in each state where vendors are most frequently selling their homes for less, with median discounts ranging from $5000 to up to $100,000 in some areas.
Property pundits say mortgage stress, vacant homes, and falling rental prices are among the reasons some Australians are selling up quickly and for less than the advertised price.
Mount Barker recorded the highest proportion of reported discounted sales at 56 per cent in the year to April 31, with a median discount of $10,000
In Rostrevor 45 per cent of sales sold for less than the advertised price with a median discount of $11,500.
It was a similar situation in Norwood where 44 per cent of properties sold for less than vendors’ price hopes. The inner-east suburb recorded a median discount of $15,000.
Forty-three per cent of homes sold in Nairne were discounted, with a median markdown of $6250.
In Magill, 40 per cent of properties were sold for less than the advertised price, with a median discount of $10,000.
Real Estate Institute of South Australia President Brett Roenfeldt was largely optimistic about the state’s property market during the COVID-19 pandemic despite concerns among other analysts.
Mr Roenfeldt said discounting in Norwood and Rostrevor was likely due to higher sales volumes in the first quarter of this year compared to last year.
He said in Magill and Mount Barker, an oversupply of newly built properties could have lead to property markdowns.
“And Nairne is a very small hamlet, and the volume of sales would be very small. So any sort of anomaly could cause a median discount there,” he said.
He said South Australia had seen an “extremely stable” property market during the coronavirus crisis, and that the state’s low median house price compared to other states meant there was “more upside than downside”.
Property data firm CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless said some discounting would have resulted from properties that were listed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but sold after lockdowns.
Mr Lawless said this was likely the result of lower market confidence and selling challenges when rules around open homes and public auctions were tightened.
He said while the true impact of mortgage stress was unlikely to be seen until banks began to end their hardship measures, some homeowners would be acting now.
“Rather than letting their interest (on the mortgage) accrue, they will … look to offload their property if they don’t think they’re going to be in a financial situation, that’s better some sometime down the track,” he said.
MORE NEWS
New Adelaide Archbishop says it’s time for George Pell to go
Hospitality heavyhitters leading us out of the crisis
Ranked: Port’s five greatest players of the past 150 years
He added a weakened rental market was also causing problems for investors, who could be looking to offload properties.
“If you’re a highly leveraged investor and your rental income and employment incomes are both affected, chances are you’re going to be having a cashflow issue,” he said.
An influx of former short-term accommodation properties now entering the regular rental market could also lower returns, with inner-city apartments particularly vulnerable.
“They have already been relatively soft, and are now being exposed to the double-whammy of a weakening in rents due to stalling overseas migration, stalling in foreign students and domestic students studying from home,” he said.
CoreLogic had forecast a drop in Australia’s property prices of up to 10 per cent as a result of a weakened economy.
But Mr Lawless said there were some positive signs, with housing values across the country staying relatively stable even when transactional activity fell 43 per cent in April.
“We are also seeing an earlier than expected return to normality,” he said.
A number of key consumer sentiment indexes had also bounced back, which he said was a “silver lining at the moment”.