South Australia Housing Bubble

[Guest BurgessFamily]

We've been looking at house prices all over Adelaide. Been seeing lots of opening. Most of the houses under $350k have been dissapointing. A lot of money for what they actually are. So many with next to no garden, and what's the thing with having the worlds biggest steel shed in the back garden?? How many time we've been told 'new modern kitchen' to see it and then think we'd rip it out and update it... lol.

 

Having spoken to many of the agents along the way, the general feedback is houses over $300k take a while to shift but anything under $300k is currently benefiting from the available grants and are being snapped up by first time buyers. If I asked what will happen in October or January, when the grant reduces, they simply said the house prices will increase at a slower rate than currently, but they won't go down.

 

I think we'll rent for a year, save some more money and watch the market. Probably end up looking at a new house off plan then too on a reasonable plot (600m2 or over).

 

What do others think of the housing market in Adelaide, what are your experiences??

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

We had some advice, and we decided to build our own place and utilize the $25k grant from the government....

 

What we are getting for our $322k includes land etc etc....and we dnt pay stamp duty on the whole house, just duty on the land....saving us around $14k....nice...

 

some good plots down on Aldinga Beach right now house and land packages that is

 

 

HG

[sueoc]

Yes i agree.Many are overpriced,and knocked up on a shoestring to make a quick buck.Round here where we live half the suburb is systematically being bulldozed,and we watch amazed as in a matter of weeks new poor quality (rubbish)tarted up boxes are hastily erected.Then we read the sales speil,which is a work of art in itself.And the price!Dont even go there.Ours is one of them(rented)and we cannot wait to get out of it next month.It has to be said though ,that there are many fine older houses in Adelaide,and as you say,it is probably more prudent to have your own built if possible.Best of luck.

[Guest kangomik]

It all depends what you want.

Nice show house, well you will need a few dollars in extras, but you willl get a new clean house how you wanted it, hopefully where you wanted it.

 

Buy established, well be prepared to look a lot, we looked at nearly 200, god knows how many on the Net!!!!

 

We had to pay higher than we wanted, but paid less than advertised.

 

This has to be one of the most confusing markets to guess, the demand is so high the prices keep stable if not rising. We bit the bullet and took what we could in grants. Yes the grants will lower soon, but i don't see chunks comming off houses just yet, if at all. But i do not have a crystal ball.

 

Listening and reading financial reports this week sees the world trying to bounce back, only time will tell on that one.

Good luck with the search, i don't envy you.

[Diane]

Can't help with house prices, except to say maybe have a look at some of the older suburbs, but when summer comes, you'll realise why big gardens aren't considered desireable - if you have lawn it's just more to mow, and if you have lots of plants, it's just more to watch die when you can't water them! You need an area for outdoor barbies and entertaining, but preferably undercover. Sitting out in the sun in one's garden here is not considered wise!

 

Good luck with your search

Diane

[Guest BurgessFamily]

I'm not asking for a big garden, just some distance between the house and the fence. Somewhere for the kids to have a little space, with a little shade & cover etc... I don't like it when you have windows that look out to a fence just a couple of feet away.

[Dawn&Andy]

i think its all dependant on what each individual wants, when we was looking was had a very tight budget, and there wasnt a lot around the area we wanted, now we could have sacrificed that and gone to the next suburb or even further afield, and yes we did look further out but our hearts were set on staying in a certain area and we seen much bigger houses in other areas but it wasnt where we wanted to be, so we stuck to what we wanted and had a smaller house in the area we wanted and within our budget. Its not the biggest house by aussie standards, but its home for us and was more important to be where we wanted than the size of the house,and its on a bigger block than many of the newer houses, and anyway when the kids all leave home it will be perfect for me and hubby, we wont need to downsize:)

 

There are some older houses that go at good prices compared with the new, depends if you are happy to do a bit of work on one to turn it into your dream home.

If you wanna buy id just say keep looking, took us months and months of searching, much like trying to find a rental i guess, eventually after hours of viewings the right one will turn up:

Good luck in finding your home, whenever you decide to buy:)

[elainew]

That's an idea. Another option is to build that way you can choose the home that suits you.

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

i think there is a big difference between the style and quailty of house when it comes to prices.

we started looking at around 350K and could only find a 3bed 1 bath with small garden in the areas we were looking at so we up our budget to 400k and finding great houses but no yard so we added another 50K which took our new budget to 450K and found a great house with a good size yard and a big concreate inground pool and thats the one we have just brought at Seaford Rise.

I think if your looking for a realy nice house down south that suits your needs then have a realistic budget in mind.

We spent weeks going to open days and viewing before we found the right one.

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

I'm not asking for a big garden, just some distance between the house and the fence. Somewhere for the kids to have a little space, with a little shade & cover etc... I don't like it when you have windows that look out to a fence just a couple of feet away.

 

Our new house is close to our neighbours on each side but we have fair sized gardens to front and rear and a big house to boot....

[Guest graandjac]

;)Something for peeps to look at is the fact that a garden is not like a uk garden , we had both a front and back garden in the uk with a nice stripey 35mtr lawn at the front, but after being here for a summer its not what you want.......the gardens here are more of an outside under cover area here with some being huge, and when you have experenced the heat it will all be clear, even a garden for the kids .............the kids will not be out in the sun .....promise, so i guess my point is dont worry to much if there is not masses of outside open space, its under cover areas that you want.

[Guest Nick11]

We've just got rid of the grass from our back garden - blocked paved it and put a pool in. Grass is just not worth the hassle. Our block is only 650 sq. m but we have a great park near us and as ours kids are growing up they aren't bothered about playing in the back.

[Guest BurgessFamily]

I'm not bothered about grass. I'd be ok with block paving, etc... and 650 sq.m is huge. Some of the plots we've seen are 300 sq.m or less!!

 

I think I'll settle with room for a swing set and trampoline (in shade) lol.

[Diane]

The original block size in Adelaide was the 'quarter acre block' (By the way 'plot' here is where you are buried!) so if you are seeing places of 300 sq metres they are obviously places that have been subdivided in the past. It may be worth looking at some suburbs that perhaps you haven't considered yet as they are older and not quite so 'shiny and new' - that's the way you'll get a bit more space. It's one of the reasons for living in an area for a while before jumping into buying (lol this is really hindsight speaking - we bought within two weeks!) because that way you'll get to know which are the old but good areas to consider, and which are the old and rundown areas to avoid! That may mean you might have to head slightly inland from the coast where you are a bit more, or perhaps up the coast to somewhere like Semaphore where you can still find older style places that haven't been developed yet.

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

$350k would get you a very nice house on some good land down at Bayswood....

[Guest kangomik]

don't forget DIY isn't cheap here, and with a bigger house it costs. Trust me i am finding out now, the flooring for two rooms was over 40 square meters.

And dont mention the weeds in the paving and the drive way.

 

Seriously though, 300m blocks are made by developers, look around unless your dead set on one area you will find better.

[minty]

With the beaches and parks is a large garden really required. Saw some lovely large houses for under 350k, not much land but could squeze a small pool in.

[suziewozie]

;)Something for peeps to look at is the fact that a garden is not like a uk garden , we had both a front and back garden in the uk with a nice stripey 35mtr lawn at the front, but after being here for a summer its not what you want.......the gardens here are more of an outside under cover area here with some being huge, and when you have experenced the heat it will all be clear, even a garden for the kids .............the kids will not be out in the sun .....promise, so i guess my point is dont worry to much if there is not masses of outside open space, its under cover areas that you want.

 

 

I have to agree here with what Graham has said, but it hurts to agree with him.

[Guest Pies]

Interestingly we have taken on a rental on a big block - lord knows how much it would be worth if it came up on the open market as it is an original quarter acre in Glenelg. Developers would have a field day!

 

Looked at a lot of properties and most are similar - lots of house and little outside space. Looked at one where the interior was beautful, but the wall was 2 feet from the shaded areaat the back of the house......realistically, only another couple of metres and it would have been fine. At least we can put up a shaded pool for the kids this year, and a trampoline, big barbie and water slide......need a tractor to mow all the lawn!!!

[Scousemouse]

Interesting thread!

 

It is all relative tho'; the "nicer" areas, with good schools are seriously sought after, and so will cost a bit more.......same as the uk.

there are bargains to be had out there......you just have to have a definate must have list, and a would be nice to have list.............and choose whats important to you and yours!! for example, good schools, smaller house; big garden away from the coast; close to work or a 30 min drive?

 

there is little doubt that plots are getting smaller; developers will take advantage of the immigrant demographics;

 

I agree with the statement that some houses appear thrown up over night, and are smaller, with less actual substance and a bit more fluff!!

[Guest graandjac]

I have to agree here with what Graham has said, but it hurts to agree with him.

 

Not sure if thats ment in a good or bad way...lol:skeptical:

[suziewozie]

Not sure if thats ment in a good or bad way...lol:skeptical:

 

 

LOL. Its was meant as a bit of light hearted fun.

[tina&steve]

Glad I'm not the only one having trouble finding a house!! I'm looking in the northeast and just can find anything upto 350!! Dont want a great big garden but room to put a small pool and for the boy to kick a ball in but haven't seen anything yet. Did find 1 place ticked almost all the boxes when we put a offer in there were 8 other offers in ours didn't even get looked at

 

Anyone on here want to sell me a house??

[Guest BurgessFamily]

we've settled on renting for a year to see if the housing market drops at all once the grants have gone. we will hopefully sell our uk house in that time and raise $150k to put towards a deposit (as they want 20% upwards here!).

 

...i did see a report suggesting house prices would double in the next couple of years with the investment being pumped into the mining industry. they suggested buying now before prices shoot up!!!!!

[Guest SA Great]

Yes i agree.Many are overpriced,and knocked up on a shoestring to make a quick buck.Round here where we live half the suburb is systematically being bulldozed,and we watch amazed as in a matter of weeks new poor quality (rubbish)tarted up boxes are hastily erected.Then we read the sales speil,which is a work of art in itself.And the price!Dont even go there.Ours is one of them(rented)and we cannot wait to get out of it next month.It has to be said though ,that there are many fine older houses in Adelaide,and as you say,it is probably more prudent to have your own built if possible.Best of luck.

 

What suburb do you live in guys? I was only saying today how disappointed I have been recently by so many houses being knocked down and two being built on the same block. One reason we came here is to have a large block of land with a big house, we ended up with 1354m2 block and a big house....great! But now there are so many lovely old big homes being demolished to make way for the greedy brigade, it's turning into England.....too many houses!!!!