Adelaide's median house value surpasses $150,000

November 2001

The median price of an Adelaide house has broken through the $150,000 barrier for the first time, according to figures released by the Real Estate Institute of South Australia (REISA).

International instability has failed to dampen home-buyers' enthusiasm for properties in the local metropolitan market, with the quarter median reaching an all-time high $152,600.

The figure is an increase of $4,200, or 2.83 per cent, on the June quarter median of $148,400, and is based on 5,165 sales in the three-month period.

It is the first time in five years that the median price has risen in the third quarter of the year. Traditionally, prices dip slightly in the September quarter.

REISA president Barrie Magain said the median increase could be attributed generally to low interest rates, which recently fell to the lowest level in almost three decades, and the Federal government's $7000 first-time home buyers' grant.

"The volatile stock market has also affected people's investment choices, so they are tending to favour the long-term stability of property over stocks and shares," Mr Magain said.

"Demand is so high that for the first time in memory, prices have not dipped in the September quarter. Traditionally, the dip occurs because of a reluctance to buy and sell in winter, and because of the end of the financial year - this year, because of the interest rates and the tight market, people have continued to shop and buy through winter."

The Department for Administrative and Information Services (DAIS) statistics show that across South Australia, 6,850 houses were sold for a median price of $139,000. The price has jumped by 18.10 per cent since September 2000, and represents a 2.28 per cent increase on the median recorded in the June 2001 quarter.

Central metropolitan Adelaide: The median price of houses has leaped by almost 20 per cent (19.22 per cent) in 12 months. The median now stands at $191,700 - based on the sale of 2,492 houses - compared $180,200 for the same period last year.

Total sales in the metropolitan area for the quarter increased by 497 on the same period last year to 5,165.

Adelaide Hills: Mount Barker and Stirling prices rose dramatically, with buyers appreciating the impact on commuter travelling times of the Heysen Tunnel.

At Mount Barker, the median price for the September quarter of 2001 was $147,800, an increase of 19.39 per cent on the $123,800 median of September 2000. The median price at Stirling is now $219,600, an increase of $47,100 on the $172,500 recorded for the same quarter last year.

Seaside suburbs: Coastal properties remain popular buys, with Henley Beach recording a 12-month increase of 32.47 per cent to a median of $255,000.

The biggest percentage gain for the quarter was recorded in the Holdfast Bay area, with the 43 per cent increase on the September 2000 median of $190,000 taking the median for this quarter to $271,700.

Southern areas: The Marion area also recorded a large increase in the median price, from $133,100 last year - a figure below the median price for the metropolitan area at that time - to $163,100, a price more than $10,000 above the current median.

Particularly of note was the huge increase in the median price of houses in the Marion suburb of Glengowrie, where the median now is $268,700 - a leap of almost 61 per cent (60.90 per cent) in 12 months, and almost 45 per cent (44.31 per cent) in the three months since June.

Much of the increase in Glengowrie can be attributed to its appeal to developers.

Outer metropolitan areas: The tight market has led home-buyers to look beyond the inner metropolitan belt to Tea Tree Gully and Salisbury, where 553 and 634 houses were sold respectively for median gains of 15.87 per cent and 18.6 per cent on last year's figures. Just as the Heysen Tunnel has led more commuters to look to the Adelaide Hills for their homes, so has the Southern Expressway made southern suburbs such as Hallett Cove, Morphett Vale and Woodcroft more attractive.

The September 2001 median price for Hallett Cove now stands at $167,200, for Woodcroft $149,000, and Morphett Vale $107,100, each recording gains of between 15 and 22 per cent over the 12-month period.

Regional South Australia: Prices increased marginally in the three months since June, from $99,200 to $99,900, but by a more impressive $14,100 (16.43 per cent) since September 2000. In the September 2001 quarter, 573 houses were sold in regional areas, compared to 582 in the corresponding period last year.