A is for Adelaide and the Australian city has been identified as the foremost growth area in the country. Its suburbs have shown a greater rise in sales than any other area.

This year’s Hotspotting Price Predictor Index shows that 47 neighbourhoods in the city are showing higher levels of sales activity. The research is based on the number of sales in an area. Its author, Terry Ryder, said:” Mostly commentators look at the median price growth as a barometer.” Average figures back up the general view that Sydney and Melbourne are the best places to buy, he added. However, by focusing on individual suburbs, Ryder concludes that his report gives a better indication that generalised figures that cover a whole city.

“There have been areas in Adelaide that have had double digit growth in median prices in the last 12 months on the back of rising sales activity and now in terms of the number of suburbs with rising markets it is actually the No 1 city,” he explained.

Adelaide city
Some areas in Adelaide have had double digit growth

The survey also shows that the Tasmanian property market is on the up. Hobart, Launceston and Devonport all have districts where sales have increased. In Hobart, much of the interest is coming from investors, who are snapping up cheap properties to rent out. The city has the highest rental yields of all the state capitals.

Ryder said more transactions suggest more potential buyers on the lookout for property, indicating that prices would rise in those areas.

Sydney and Brisbane, meanwhile, are less appealing options. Ryder warns that they both show danger signs as fewer apartment sales are recorded. This could suggest an oversupply.
Just six of Sydney’s metropolitan suburbs record increasing sales.

Sydney at sunset
Sydney is seen as a less appealing option

And at the bottom of the scale, the index highlights vanishing growth markets in Perth, where only one suburb, Byford, shows a steady increase in house sales.

However, this could indicate that now is a good time to buy here, according to Ryder. “The smart investors buy when markets are down,” he said. He believes Perth has reached the bottom of this particular cycle and that investors should make their move now.

Perth
Now could be the right time to invest in Perth

Perth, he said, “has got a history of being a strong city and we know it will come back.”

He continued: “We are now starting to see – almost daily – better news about the resources sector and commodity prices, particularly coal, but also for iron ore rising and if that continues we are going to see some revival.”