Property prices, volumes rebound in Adelaide
Property prices and sales volumes are edging higher in Adelaide, June quarter data from the South Australian government shows.
“The preliminary data has recorded nearly 3,800 sales in the June quarter, and this figure will continue to edge up as data is finalised,” Real Estate Institute of SA (REISA) president, Greg Moulton, said.
“This is up on the March quarter’s volume and will end up stronger than the same quarter last year.”
“Activity is the really important driver in the property market, so this is a positive change, especially after two recent interest rate cuts.”
The data also showed an improvement in the median house price for Adelaide metropolitan areas.
“Over the past quarter, the median house price is Adelaide has risen by 3.1 per cent, and we are only looking at a 1.4 per cent decrease on the same time last year, so I think we’re starting to see the end of some really tough times in real estate,” Mr Moulton said.
“It will be a slow recovery as the general economy is weak, but people are starting to think property again, for both investment and a different lifestyle.”
“The market is patchy at the moment, so there’s a bit of volatility quarter to quarter but with activity rising and prices starting to stabilise, we’re heading in the right direction.”
“The amount of stock on the market is still very high, which equals longer time on market. But the flip side for buyers is there are more choices and softer purchase prices.”
SQM Research recently reported that Adelaide had 17,480 properties on the market during June, up 0.7 per cent on month, and 7.9 per cent higher than the same time in 2011.
The most recent statistics from RP Data shows median time on market in Adelaide is 62 days for houses and 57 days for units.
Based on the SA government data, suburbs which performed particularly strongly, over a 12 month period include Semaphore (40 per cent), Parkside (16 per cent) and Highbury (16 per cent).
“In Semaphore, looking at the sales for the quarter, it’s clear that some big properties have changed hands which has driven the significant spike in median house price, but equally, it shows the demand for the suburb,” Mr Moulton said.