SA house sales increase by almost 10 per cent in past year

PROPERTY sales are up nationally, and here’s where you can score yourself a bargain SA property.

REIQ generic house sale

PROPERTY sales are up nationally, with SA recording a 9.5 per cent increase - just behind the Australia-wide average.

The BOQ Spring Buyer’s Guide, collated with figures from RP Data, revealed there were 480,790 house and unit sales nationally in the year to May, up 10.4 per cent on the same time a year ago.

It found the increase was driven predominantly by investors and upgraders, with first home buyers still largely inactive.

According to the report, South Australia had 9.5 per cent more sales over the past year than the previous year.

The most active council area was Onkaparinga, which had 3282 sales in the past 12 months, with a median sale value of $333,281.

Homes there sold, on average, in 78 days and the average vendor discounting was 5.8 per cent.

Onkaparinga Council area homes currently rent for $310 per week and deliver a gross rental yield of 5.2 per cent.

Salisbury, Port Adelaide Enfield, Tea Tree Gully and Charles Sturt council areas rounded out the top five council regions for top sales.

The Burnside Council area had the highest median value at $761,813 over the past 12 months from its 698 sales.

The top 10 most affordable suburbs all came from the Playford council area.

Elizabeth North was the state’s most affordable suburb for the year with a median of $170,775 from its 31 sales and Davoren Park came in at number two with a median of $175,882.

Medindie had the highest median for the year at $1,546,703 from its 19 sales and Unley Park was the second most expensive with a median of $1,259,922.

The Charles Sturt Council area had the most unit sales for the year (785) but the most affordable units, with a median value of $140,663, were found in the Gawler Council area suburb of Evanston.

With a median of $526,197 from 19 sales, Eastwood in the Burnside Council area has the state’s most expensive units.

According to the guide, Queensland had the greatest increase in sales statewide, up 14.8 per cent, and Brisbane recorded the greatest jump for a city, up 19.8 per cent.

Recording a fall in demand were Western Australia, down by 1 per cent, and the ACT, where transaction levels dropped by 1.8 per cent.

New South Wales experienced a 13.6 per cent lift in transactions, while Tasmania went up by 11.2 per cent and Victoria increased by 9.5 per cent.

Transaction levels only increased marginally in the Northern Territory where they were up by 2.2 per cent.

“While transaction numbers are up, listing numbers are down,” the report said.

“RP Data estimate the total number of homes advertised for sale is currently 7.7 per cent lower than a year ago.

“The combination of high buyer demand and short effective supply levels is one of the key factors driving home values higher.

“Rising buyer demand coupled with lower market supply is resulting in a market that is often skewed towards the seller.’’

Originally published as SA house sales increase by almost 10 per cent in past year