10 best suburbs to invest in Adelaide in 2025

Adelaide was the second-best city for capital growth in 2024, boasting median house prices higher than Perth and looking to overtake Melbourne, if 2024 patterns are repeated in 2025. According to PropTrack, the state’s median price for both houses and units rose about 14%—roughly three times the national average.

Adelaide’s rise has coincided with major strides by the state’s economy. Long considered a low-growth state, South Australia has been transformed in recent years; in January 2025’s edition of State of the States report by CommSec, it was classified as the second-best economy in Australia. That being said, as of the April report, it had slipped to fourth—due in part to slower economic growth, equipment investment and relative population growth.

The data below was prepared in February 2025 with suburb median prices, growth rates, vacancy rates and median rental yields provided by Hotspotting by Ryder and initial outlay and monthly repayments calculated by Canstar Research.

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Top 10 best suburbs to invest in Adelaide 2025

• Christies Beach (Unit)
  

• Elizabeth Park
  

• Hackham West
  

• Modbury
  

• Mount Barker
  

• New Port (Unit)
  

• Para Hills
  

• Plympton (Unit)
  

• Seacombe Gardens
  

• West Lakes (Unit)
  

Christies Beach (U)

Buyers heading south for affordability could consider suburbs like Christies Beach, which has historically offered attractively-priced bayside properties. But after years of big growth, the median house price nudges above $700,000—making units a more affordable option at a median price of $590,000. Christies Beach is close to the Noarlunga Centre, providing an array of local retail, medical and leisure amenities. Vacancies are near zero and rents rose 11% in the past year.

Elizabeth Park

Suburbs in northern Adelaide with Elizabeth in the name (there are eight) constitute the more affordable end of the market, but continue to attract buyers and tenants in droves because of this affordability, coupled with good amenities and major employment nodes. Elizabeth Park ticks all those boxes and has had big price growth, both recently and longer-term (10-year average of 19% a year), but its median price remains (just) below $500,000.

Hackham West

Four years ago the median price for this southern suburb was $250,000 and recently it topped $600,000. Buyer demand and prices are still rising—and, with vacancies at zero, rents have increased 11% in the past year. Hackham West abuts the Southern Expressway, the main thoroughfare to central Adelaide, as well as the Noarlunga Centre, which includes a shopping centre, hospital, leisure facilities and rail links to the city.

Modbury

The Tea Tree Gully LGA is one of Adelaide’s most popular areas for buyers, striking a balance between quality and price. 12km north-east of the city, Modbury ticks most homebuyer boxes: major green spaces, shopping centre, hospital, schools and transport interchange. Prices continue to grow at above-average rates and vacancies are close to zero, with house rents rising 20% in the past 12 months.

Mount Barker

The Adelaide Hills boasts plenty of expensive real estate, by local standards, but a little further out, Mount Barker homes are more affordable. The town is well-connected by a freeway and has many amenities—which explains the ongoing buyer demand, strong home sales (590 in the past year) and continual price growth. And, yes, vacancies are low at 1%, with rents up 10% in the past 12 months.

New Port (U)

Port Adelaide-Enfield is a popular middle market area of Adelaide and suburbs around Port Adelaide itself are increasingly popular. New Port has affordable units along Port Creek, despite a 24% rise in the median price in the past 12 months, with easy access to the Glanville and Ethelton train stations and the Port Adelaide Plaza shopping centre nearby. Unit rents increased 16% in the past year.

Para Hills

Buyers seeking affordable options usually look to the northern suburbs, where suburbs like Para Hills have houses in the $600,000s (four years ago it was the $300,000s), following a 19% annual rise and a 10-year capital growth average of 14%. Vacancies are below 1% and rents rose 12% in the past year. Para Hills has schools, sports facilities and The Paddocks Wetlands—and good proximity to multiple major employment nodes.

Plympton (U)

Houses are close to $1 million in inner-city Plympton (about 5km south-east of the CBD) but units are in the $400,000s—and buyer demand is rising steadily for this cheaper option, with prices expected to follow. Rents have already responded to rising demand, up 16% in the past 12 months. Local features include Plympton International College, Seaview Aquarium Centre and shopping centres.

Seacombe Gardens

The City of Marion south-west of the CBD is popular for its proximity to university, hospital and technology campuses. Seacombe Gardens has a 10-year growth average of 11% a year, with a 14% annual rise most recently—and, with vacancies well below 1%, rents increased 13% in the past year. Seacombe Gardens is close to the giant Westfield Marion shopping complex and handy to Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre.

West Lakes (U)

After a 39% annual rise, the median house price in this bayside suburb is now around $1.2 million, but units ($675,000) are a lot more affordable, despite a 24% increase in the past year. Unit rents also jumped, up 15% in 12 months. West Lakes is not only close to beaches, but it’s 12km to the Adelaide CBD and 10km to Adelaide Airport—and its amenities include West Lakes Golf Club.

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Best suburbs to invest in Adelaide 2025

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Source: www.canstar.com.au. Prepared in February 2025. Based on a selection of suburbs’ median prices, growth and rent figures provided by Hotspotting by Ryder. Initial outlay figures include the deposit, stamp duty, mortgage registration and transfer fees; and lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI) premium for the 10% deposit scenarios. Stamp duty calculated based on an owner occupier purchase of an established dwelling where applicable. FHB concessions include stamp duty only. LMI premium based on Helia LMI Premium Calculator for an owner occupier borrower and a loan term of 30 years. Monthly repayments calculated based on the interest rates of 6.20% (20% deposit) and 6.34% (10% deposit) and a loan term of 30 years. Interest rates based on the RBA Lenders’ Interest Rates (November 2024). Percentage of income based on the average total income by Greater Capital City Statistical Area (ABS Personal Income, 2021-22), adjusted by the ABS Wage Price Index (Sep-2024) for each state.

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What are some of the factors that are impacting the Adelaide market?

Sales volumes

Adelaide continues to attract consistent buyer demand and 46% of its suburbs have positive trends with their sales volumes.

Quarterly price growth

Adelaide produced strong price uplift in both 2023 and 2024—and is expected to do well again this year, with the latest quarter delivering good price growth in seven out of 10 suburbs. This ranks the city only a little behind Perth for this metric.

Vacancy rates

Adelaide has had low vacancies for years and continues to do so, but the market is loosening a little for tenants because of the number of investor purchases in recent years and the overall vacancy rate is gradually rising. Now a little under half of Adelaide has vacancy rates below 1%.

Rental growth

Thanks to the strong city economy and low vacancies for a long time (although now starting to ease), rental growth remains strong. In the past 12 months, 85% of Adelaide suburbs have recorded rental increases of more than 5%.

Infrastructure spending

Adelaide continues to invest steadily in infrastructure improvements, notably the road network and rail links, as well as medical and education infrastructure—plus the big program of building vessels for the Royal Australian Navy.

Cover image source: Ozitraveler/Shutterstock.com