5 best suburbs in Regional South Australia to invest in 2025

South Australia (SA) outside of Adelaide seldom features in the national real estate conversation, but it keeps on out-performing other areas in Australia, led by star regional centres like Mount Gambier, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor and Port Lincoln.

In 2024 Regional South Australia was considered the unheralded ‘hero’ of the Australian property market, leading all regional Australian locations on price growth, with its median house price up 13% (equal first with Regional WA, according to PropTrack).

The South Australian regional market continues to thrive, maintaining the consistency which is its defining feature. This market is underpinned by one of the nation’s leading state economies, with South Australia ranked in the top four in the nation in the most recent quarterly edition of the State of the States published by CommSec.

Regional South Australia has several busy market sectors. In addition to those mentioned above, they include the Copper Coast, the towns of the renowned Barossa Valley and locations strongly-connected to the resources and energy sector, including Port Augusta, Port Pirie and Whyalla—collectively known as the Iron Triangle towns.

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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The 5 best suburbs in Regional South Australia to invest in

• Encounter Bay

• Mount Gambier (Unit) 

• Murray Bridge

• Port Lincoln

• Port Pirie South
  

Encounter Bay

The ‘sea change’ towns in the Victor Harbor LGA south of Adelaide have been big performers in recent years, benefiting from the ‘exodus to affordable lifestyle’ trend. Encounter Bay continues to attract good buyer demand, with its median house price rising 20% in the past year alone, and a 10-year growth rate averaging 14% a year. Neighbouring enclaves Port Elliot, Hayborough and Victor Harbor are also popular.

Mount Gambier (U)

SA’s largest regional centre, Mount Gambier is a growing multi-faceted economy near the Victorian border, attracting new residents and investors for its affordability and lifestyle. Buyer demand is rising and prices have followed suit, with the median house price now approaching $500,000, after a 20% annual rise. Some buyers are now switching their attention to units, with a median price of $310,000 and vacancies around 1%.

Murray Bridge

This is another regional SA town with property data that would surprise many people. The median price has grown 19% (with 361 sales) in the past year and the long-term capital growth average is 16% a year, with vacancies at 1% and rents up more than 10%. The median house price is now $465,000. This bustling market is underpinned by a busy local economy and a riverside lifestyle.

Port Lincoln

This is the key regional centre and export port at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula, renowned for its seafood. The median house price rose 15% in the past 12 months but remains well below $500,000, and a strong 10-year capital growth rate of 10% a year. With vacancies consistently low, rents increased 12% in the past year.

Port Pirie South

The Iron Triangle towns—Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla—are attracting growing interest from investors for their cheaper houses and high rental yields. Port Pirie South is a good example: rising buyer demand, the median house price up 6% in the past year but still well below $300,000 and, with vacancies close to zero, rents have increased 7%. This has provided a median rental yield above 7%.

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Best suburbs to invest in Regional South Australia 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 Regional South Australian market?

Sales volumes

Regional SA continues to attract consistently solid buyer demand, a feature of its performance in recent years: almost half of locations have positive sales activity trends.

Quarterly price growth

Many Regional SA locations recorded price uplift in 2023 and again in 2024, with the state leading regional markets on median house price growth (equal first with Regional WA) last year. There was solid performance again in the quarter under review, with two-thirds of the locations increasing more than 2%.

Vacancy rates

This is another category in which Regional SA is out-performing many of the larger and better-known markets, with 65% of locations having vacancy rates below 1%.

Rental growth

A strong state economy and low vacancies throughout the region provides a recipe for rising rentals. Seven out of 10 locations recorded increases above 5% in the past year.

Infrastructure spending

Resources and energy projects including several large-scale alternative energy enterprises (a sector in which South Australia is a national leader) is a major catalyst for investment in regional Australia and it has improved its status in this category.

Cover image source: kwest/Shutterstock.com