The 4 best suburbs in Regional SA for first home buyers

Find out which suburbs in Regional South Australia made the top 4 list in Canstar’s Bright Starters Australian First Home Buyer Report powered by Hotspotting.

There are plenty of great locations in Regional South Australia where you can buy a home for less than $231,000. This was the cut-off price we used to come up with our ‘Bright Starter’ suburbs in this region. (For more on why we chose this see our full report.)

Of course, price isn’t the only consideration for first home buyers. A good lifestyle and prospects for growth should also be on the checklist. In Canstar’s inaugural Bright Starters Australian First Home Buyer Report we used five key metrics – sales volumes, price growth, vacancy rates, infrastructure and proximity to work and amenities – to identify suburbs that are desirable and likely to grow in value over time. Check out our list below.

The 4 best suburbs in Regional South Australia for first home buyers

• Berri 
• Port Augusta 
• Whyalla Norrie 
• Whyalla Stuart 

Berri

This is a key regional centre north-east of Adelaide, on the Murray River. It has a thriving local economy based on agriculture and viticulture. It’s home to around 1,000 wine growing businesses – accounting for over a quarter of Australia’s annual crush. There has been added input recently from renewable energy developments which have created new jobs. Real estate demand is high and vacancies close to zero. Houses in Berri and nearby towns are typically in the $200,000s.

Port Augusta

This is one of Australia’s cheapest towns, among those that have prospects for growth. Port Augusta is a strategically located crossroads town, which is becoming a major centre for renewable energy development. Several major projects, each worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are happening replacing the town’s former role as a venue for coal-fired power. For those with employment in the resources and energy sector, it’s a very affordable place to buy.

Whyalla Norrie

The low pricing levels might suggest Whyalla Norrie doesn’t have much to offer, but there are significant centres of activity. The University of South Australia has a campus there and Westland Shopping Centre is the largest on the Eyre Peninsula. There is also Whyalla Recreation Centre, Whyalla Public Library, Quest Whyalla and various schools and colleges. Sales activity has picked up markedly in the past year and vacancies are very low here.

Whyalla Stuart

Whyalla is one of South Australia’s biggest regional centres. It’s an industrial town, with major connections to the resources sector, and is something of a boom-bust town as a consequence. It was booming a decade ago and now, after some lean years, is mounting a comeback. A legacy of the downturn is houses priced below $200,000 in places like Whyalla Stuart.

Regional South Australia has few strong options below our price ceiling so only four locations made the cut. One town that sits a little outside our price parameters (with a median price of $255,000) but ticks other boxes is Kadina, which is why we are giving it an honourable mention. Located on the Yorke Peninsula, it is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famous for their mining history. It’s an important agricultural area and is close to seaside Wallaroo. Vacancies are rare and it’s cheaper to own here than to rent.

The best suburbs in Regional South Australia for first home buyers

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Sources: Median price, growth and median rent: CoreLogic as at 1 February 2022. Initial outlay, time to save and repayment data: canstar.com.au as at March 2022. *Initial outlay includes the deposit, stamp duty, transfer fee and mortgage registration fee.  ^Time to save calculations are based on the time required to save up the initial outlay costs with the average income (ABS Personal Income by greater capital city statistical area, adjusted by ABS Wage Price Index, June 2021). Calculations assume that 20% of after-tax income is saved each month, earning a savings rate of 0.62% (average bonus savings rate over the past 12 months to 1/03/22). 2021/22 tax rates plus the 2% Medicare Levy are applied to the annual income and savings interest, and inflation of 2.5%pa is applied to income and property price. Dual income calculations assume there are two savers with the average income. Actual time to save will vary depending on your individual circumstances as well as the rate of property growth.  +Repayment calculations assume principal and interest repayments over a 30-year loan term with an interest rate of 3.36% (average owner-occupier variable rate over the 12 months to 1 March 2022). LMI for an owner-occupier first home buyer (per Genworth LMI Premium Calculator) is included in the loan amount for the 10% deposit monthly repayment calculations. For initial outlay, time to save and repayment data based on a 20% deposit download the full Bright Starters report.

Cover image source: Alex Cimbal/Shutterstock.com

About Terry Ryder

Terry is the founder and Managing Director of hotspotting.com.au, which he created in 2006 to help investors find the best places to buy. Terry has been a specialist researcher and writer on Australian residential property in a career spanning four decades. During that time he has published four books.

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