Suburb by suburb: What SA’s regional homes could be worth in 2028 according to PropTrack

SA’s rural median home price has skyrocketed – so what could home prices look like in 2028? And which towns will become the new million-dollar regions?

South Australia’s rural property markets were the surprise heroes of the Covid pandemic, with the hunger for space and lifestyle luring people away from Adelaide’s metropolitan area and in turn driving prices across the state.

And property experts expect that growth to continue.

According to a new PropTrack report the median home price across regional South Australia has increased 32.76 per cent over the past five years to $345,000.

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If history repeats and home values climb at the same rate over the next five years they could be worth $458,000.

The biggest winners in terms of greatest growth over a five-year period can be found in Whyalla Stuart.

The median home price there has increased by 97 per cent over the past five years to $181,000.

If this growth continues over the next five years its median will rise to $356,000.

Whyalla from the air. Picture: Simon Cross

Millicent, in the heart of South Australia’s Limestone Coast in the south east, was nipping at its heels.

Home values there have increased by 96 per cent over the past five years, bringing its median to $333,000. Should that growth rate continue over the next five years, its median home value would be $650,000.

The report is not intended to be relied on as a forecast for what home prices will do, rather shows what they could do if history repeats.

Ray White Port Augusta/Whyalla principal Darren Sherriff said the market had only recently caught up to and eclipsed the house prices achieved in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 global financial crisis. This has been driven by low supply and high demand, which is fuelled by changes in buyer preference as a result of Covid, he said.

“In Whyalla we’re probably down to about 40 pieces of stock and we had about 120, so demand is certainly higher than supply at the moment and I think that’s driving it forward,” he said.

“The last five years have got us back to where we were in 2008 before the GFC, and I think the next three to five years I expect to see even better growth again.”

Encounter Bay, South Australia. Picture: Kathy Hoile

The Fleurieu Peninsula was well represented, with Middleton, Goolwa South, Hindmarsh Island, Hayborough, Goolwa Beach, Victor Harbor, Encounter Bay and Port Elliot all making the top 15 locations for value growth over the past five years.

Harcourts South Coast principal Mark Forde said house prices in the area had grown significantly over the past five years.

“What has really driven our market is the fact that I think we’ve been undervalued for a long time compared to other coastal locations within an hour of a capital city, and the brain drain SA has had for a number of decades, a lot of those people are now coming back and looking for a lifestyle location to live in,” he says.

“I think we’ll see continued growth over the next five years.

“Covid has fast-tracked it – it was a sleeping giant and now it’s been woken.”

Matt and Rachael Egan with their boys Ben, 16 and Heath, 13 on the balcony of their Encounter Bay home. Picture: Ben Clark

Teacher Rachael Egan, 47, and her family moved to Encounter Bay from Melbourne last year and are thrilled with their decision.

“We’d love to see that growth increase in the coming years – there’s a lot going on down here and a lot of people are saying the changes have been significant and quick,” Mrs Egan said.

– Presented in partnership with PropTrack