South Australia’s best-buy hotspots and where to avoid

But it also warns buying into these easier-to-secure addresses carries risks.

New research from SuburbData shows those looking to enter the market close to the city have the best chance of doing it in Oakden, just 9km from the CBD as the crow flies, where 2.39 per cent of the suburb’s 1074 homes are currently for sale.

Littlehampton, 27km from the city, was the next best option in terms of distance from the CBD, where 2.41 per cent of the suburb’s 1128 homes are currently on the market.

Virginia, at 28km from town, wasn’t far behind, with 4.05 per cent of its 841 homes are currently on the market.

Mount Barker in the Hills, and Munno Para in the northern suburbs, both 30km from the city, were also considered oversupplied, with 2.07 per cent and 2.83 per cent of all housing currently for sale.

The South Australian property market is heating up with plenty of buying and selling activity. Picture: Getty

But the state’s most oversupplied suburb, the report found, is Angle Vale, where 6.5 per cent of its 1274 homes are currently on the market.

SuburbData said suburbs were “oversupplied” when the supply of available housing far outweighed buyer demand.

If a home has about 1 per cent of its housing supply available it is considered a balanced market.

More than 2 per cent and a suburb was considered oversupplied, while suburbs with more than 5 per cent of the suburb’s housing currently for sale were considered to be in “extraordinary” oversupply.

It only evaluated markets with more than 500 homes.

While these suburbs appeared a smart buy on paper, SuburbData analyst Jeremy Sheppard said oversupplied markets could be a trap for new buyers as it could take many years until home values rose.

There was also a pronounced risk of homeowners falling into negative equity – a situation where the owners held more debt than their property was worth.

Mount Barker has been identified as one of SA’s most oversupplied suburbs. Image: Supplied

“There are potentially some opportunities for first-home buyers because there is not as much competition to buy but the problem is if you need to sell for whatever reason,” he said.

“Unless you’re willing to sell for a loss, you could be in a position where you need to wait many years until you’re able to cover your selling costs.

“In the more extreme cases, it could take up to a decade for that excess housing supply to be absorbed and for values to return to normal.”

Mr Sheppard said oversupply could continue in some areas for many more years – especially certain greenfield estates.

“These can be great markets to buy into if all you care about is getting a roof over your head, but as far as equity is concerned they can be more dangerous than mining towns,” he said.

“The issue for a homeowner in these areas is that there will often still be lots of land nearby that can be developed and likely will be developed, so these markets can be hard to justify as an investment.”

This 4-bedroom Thebarton house sold in May for $1,190,000. Picture: Realestate.com.au/sold

In terms of Adelaide’s most undersupplied suburbs – the hardest to get into – Thebarton in Adelaide’s inner west was the toughest to get into, with 0 per cent of its 542 homes on average on the market at any given time.

Sheidow Park, Coromandel Valley, Richmond and Trott Park also favoured sellers, with 0.1 per cent of total homes in each currently on the market.

LJ Hooker Mile End agent Thanasi Mantopoulos is currently selling the only listing in Thebarton and said homes in the suburb were as rare as hens’ teeth.

“As leading agent in the suburb, I’ve sold 7 homes in the past 12 months, compared with 12 in the 12 months to September last year,” he said.

“There’s 42 per cent less volume than last year and this is due to the excellent lifestyle on offer, owners being aware that living in Thebarton is hard to beat, its proximity to the CBD, and the upcoming development of the old brewery site and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.”

Mr Mantopoulos said this undersupply led to him setting set two suburb records in the past financial year – with one property selling for $1.4m in July 2023, and another for $1.64m this May.