Revealed: The dramatic shift in SA’s property market buyers

A new report has shone a light on SA’s buyer activity over the past month and, to be honest, it’s pretty interesting.

According to Oliver Hume’s September monthly dashboard, inquiry levels rebounded strongly by 12 per cent last month, suggesting a renewed sense of buyer confidence, while property reservations surged by 100 per cent, indicating this heightened market engagement was translating into more sales commitments.

For Adelaide purchases made in September, 50.9 per cent of them went to owner-occupiers, with investor activity rising to 49.1 per cent, making it almost an even split between the two.

Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell. Supplied

Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell said this split was particularly interesting.

This near balance between the two segments marks a significant market shift, with investment demand gaining strong momentum and narrowing the gap with traditional homebuyer activity.

Oliver Hume research. Supplied

According to the research, first-home buyer activity dropped to 33.3 per cent of all purchases made, with the other two-thirds going to more experienced buyers.

“This ongoing shift underscores the strengthening presence of established buyers in the market, suggesting that affordability pressures or reduced entry-level incentives may be constraining first-time purchaser activity.

Looking at the share of lot sizes on the market in September, the 300sqm to 349sqm, and 450sqm to 499sqm ranges made up the largest availability groups at 25 per cent each – a rise on the previous month from 5.4 per cent for the 300sqm to 349sqm group.

Oliver Hume research. Supplied

Those from 350sqm to 399sqm were the next largest group at 22.7 per cent – down on the previous month – while those in the 400sqm to 449sqm range made up 11.4 per cent of available stock.

Premium properties – those 700sqm+ – made up 4.5 per cent of all available stock.

“These changes are largely influenced by the composition of stock released, highlighting how product mix continues to shape monthly lot size distributions,” Mr Bell said.

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Looking at the age of buyers, purchases made by those aged from 18-25 made up 33.3 per cent of all commitments, and matching the amount of purchases made by those in the 41 to 45 cohort.

That’s an increase for the young-uns on the previous month, and a drop for the older demographic.

Those in the 26-32 segment made up 6.7 per cent of all sales, while the 56+ age group accounted for 6.7 per cent of all sales.

Oliver Hume research. Supplied

“This shift indicates a notable resurgence in younger buyer activity, contrasting with the dominance of older demographics in August,” Mr Bell said.

“As with previous months, the small sample size continues to contribute to the volatility in age distribution trends.”

And as for interstate inquiry, well, this chart speaks for itself:

Oliver Hume research. Supplied

“Interstate interest in September was exclusively driven by Victoria, accounting for 100 per cent of demand,” Mr Bell said.

“This marks a reversal from August’s balanced mix between New South Wales and Victoria, highlighting a concentrated surge in Victorian buyer activity and renewed cross-border interest from that market segment.”

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