Renting? Buy here in SA and save $5124 a year

With the costs of rentals skyrocketing in recent years, there are only a few places you can still buy for less than the cost of renting. And they’re not all out in the sticks. Here’s where you can save big.

Tom Bowden and Aidan Devine

2 min read

July 2, 2023 - 5:30AM

News Corp Australia Network

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Looking for a way to get off the rent roundabout, and save a bunch of cash in the process?

A new report by Canstar, in conjunction with Hotspotting’s Terry Ryder, reveals where you can do it.

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For hopeful househunters looking to purchase across metropolitan Adelaide with a 10 per cent deposit, the only suburb where it’s cheaper to buy than rent is Davoren Park.

Houses in the suburb – which carries a median of $295,000 – rent for $1517 a month.

In contrast, buyers purchasing with a 10 per cent deposit would be paying $1491 a month – a saving of $26 a month, or $312a year.

An aerial view of suburban Adelaide with Mt Lofty Ranges in the background

Regional buyers with a 10 per cent deposit have more options, with Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Renmark and Whyalla Norrie all cheaper places to buy than rent.

Port Augusta buyers stand to save the most, with the difference between the suburb’s median monthly rent of $1387 and its monthly mortgage repayments on a median-priced $190,000 property being a whopping $427. That equates to $5124 a year.

An aerial view of Port Augusta, where it’s cheaper to buy than rent. Picture Dean Martin

Port Pirie buyers stand to save $3948 a year, Renmark neighbours $1476 and Whyalla Norrie buyers $3732.

Those who can afford to scrape together a 20 per cent deposit have a few more choices. Brahma Lodge, Evanston Gardens and Munno Para join Davoren Park as places buyers can save, while Mount Gambier joins the aforementioned regional options.

Mike Lao of Edge Realty.

Edge Realty principal Mike Lao said Adelaide’s north was being actively targeted by people looking to get off the rent roundabout.

“It gives them security and they can also have pets, which is a huge drawcard,” he said.

“It has really picked up over the past year or two as interest rates started going up and the rental crisis emerged.

“Previously I was selling 60 to 70 per cent of our stock to investors, but now it’s gone the other way.”

Mr Lao said new developments had gentrified the area and made northern suburbs living more appealing.

Canstar editor-at-large Effie Zahos. Picture: supplied

Canstar editor-at-large Effie Zahos said home ownership was easier to achieve than some renters may realise.

“People don’t always understand that they could service a mortgage,” she said. “The fear of committing to something over a25-year term can be prohibitive, but not doing so can have its problems too.

“As rents go up, and there are fewer rental properties on the market, you have fewer options as a renter to do anything about it. Rising rents can be as hard to service as a mortgage.”

Hotspotting managing director Terry Ryder. Picture: Supplied

Mr Ryder said buyers could do quite well in Adelaide’s northern suburbs and regional areas, and noted suburbs could easily shake off stigmas.

“Gentrification is a strong possibility in many of these areas,” he said. “Buyers should also consider the possibility that areas with a stigma don’t always deserve it.

“It’s formed from an attitude people have from a distance.

“It’s often a reputation formed from people who have never been there.”