Regional South Australia home prices started the year on the rise, according to the PropTrack Home Price Index, released last week.
The report found that in January, regional areas (+0.12%) outpaced the capital cities (-0.16%) for home price growth, as poor affordability and a surge in choice through spring tempered recent growth in the capitals.
The key findings from the report showed that in regional SA, home prices grew 0.6% over the month, as prices sat at a new peak, 12.94% higher than January 2024 levels.
The report also found that home prices in regional SA have skyrocketed since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, rising by 84.0%, the largest increase of all markets.
Adelaide home prices fell 0.07% in January, yet prices sat 12.41% higher year-on-year, with the capital city one of the top performing capitals for annual home price growth in January, alongside Perth (+15.38%) and Brisbane (+10.44%).
Even so, Adelaide home prices have dropped 0.27% from the most recent peak.
Following the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, home prices in Adelaide have seen the biggest hike among the capital cities, with an 80.2% increase.
Other key findings were: • National home prices fell 0.08% in January, though remain 3.82% higher year-on-year.
• Capital cities led the decline in prices, falling 0.16% in January. In contrast, regional areas recorded a 0.12% rise in prices over the month. • Hobart (-0.46%), Melbourne (-0.30%), and Sydney (-0.21%) led price falls in January, with prices also dropping in Darwin (-0.11%), Canberra (-0.10%) and Adelaide (-0.07%) over the month.
• Prices in Perth were flat in January, remaining at peak levels. Meanwhile, Adelaide recorded a small fall (-0.07%) in January, bringing prices 0.27% below their peak. • Brisbane was the only capital to see price rises in January, lifting 0.08% over the month.
• Perth (+15.38%), Adelaide (+12.41%) and Brisbane (+10.44%) remain the strongest performing capitals over the past year. However, the pace of growth has slowed in recent months. • Annual price growth in regional areas (+4.47%) outpaced the capital cities (+3.56%) in January as poor affordability and a surge in choice through spring tempered price growth in the capitals.
• Despite the recent downturn, national home prices have risen over the past year, and compared to March 2020, national home values are 45.0% higher.
A PropTrack spokeswoman said national home prices fell in January, as the softer end to 2024 carried over into the new year.
“While housing demand remained resilient to persistent affordability constraints, the pace of home price growth slowed throughout 2024, culminating in small falls over the past two months,” she said.
“This softening in growth has occurred alongside a surge in stock for sale, giving buyers more choice and reducing the urgency to transact.
Affordability challenges, weaker economic conditions and the sustained higher interest rate environment have also been contributors to slowing – and reversing – growth.
“With interest rate cuts on the horizon, the price falls seen over the past two months are likely to be short lived.
“As interest rates move lower this year boosting borrowing capacities, improving affordability and buyer confidence are expected to drive renewed demand and price growth.
However, the stretched starting point for affordability will likely dampen the uplift in prices compared to prior easing cycles, resulting in the pace of home price growth trailing the strong performance of recent years.”
The report showed that Adelaide home prices fell a small 0.07% in January, marking the second consecutive month of falls and bringing prices 0.27% below their peak.
Despite the small falls, Adelaide remains one of the top performing capitals over the past year and prices were 12.41% above January 2024 levels.
The comparative affordability of the city’s homes has contributed to persistently strong growth of recent years, though the pace of price growth has slowed – and reversed – with affordability having deteriorated significantly and the higher interest rate environment persisting.