A combination of low Covid rates and lifestyle changes are putting more attention on the South Australian capital
5 min
Sandstone villas and opulent mansions in South Australia’s premier inner-city suburbs have become hot property for Adelaide house hunters looking for lifestyle as well as economic security.
While there’s been plenty of activity and attention placed on rural living and lifestyle areas, Adelaide’s inner-city listings too, particularly in blue chip suburbs such as Toorak Gardens and North Adelaide, have also been snapped up for record prices in the past few months.
Several driving factors have helped pique interest and confidence, not least the city’s handling of the pandemic—with less than 600 cases in total and four deaths.
As of December, its unemployment rate of 6.4% was no longer the highest in the country and its relatively affordable median house price of $509,978 and Australia’s historically low interest rates has contributed to its appeal.
Housing is half the price of Sydney, where median house prices have passed $1 million, and more than 60% cheaper than Melbourne’s median house price of $821,904.
Fox Real Estate principal Andrew Fox said there was uncertainty in the market around March and April but confidence returned quickly and activity and prices “went from strength to strength.”
“We were very fortunate in 2020,” he said. “Many generational top-end properties changed hands for excellent prices while low interest rates and low stock levels fueled the market.”
Sotheby’s South Australia director Grant Giordano confirmed that “a lot has been happening in terms of luxury sales” around Adelaide and said it still offers great relative value compared to other cities.
“These prestige properties are incredibly attractive, I always talk about the relative value of Adelaide, when you’re buying one of these properties, you’re buying tomorrow’s value today,” he said.
“It’s a city that goes through a cyclical cycle, once one big sale occurs, they all go and reset the market’s expectations.”
He said South Australians have adjusted their lifestyle habits as a result of the pandemic.
“People have more disposable income and are limiting discretionary buys and instead investing in their day-to-day lifestyle because they’re stuck at home,” he said.
“Many buyers are thinking ‘If I’m stuck at home might as well enjoy the space which I’m currently in’,” he said.
Williams Luxury managing director Stephanie Williams said 2020 brought about a distinct shift among Adelaide’s more affluent buyers, who sought larger properties that are better suited to the current “Covid lifestyle,” that include home offices, gyms, theatre rooms and outdoor areas.
“As we are all spending more time at home our needs have broadened somewhat to require these extra living environments and our high profile clients and professionals are now working from home more than ever before,” Ms Williams said.
“We also have a strong level of international relocations and ex-pats returning to Adelaide—as it offers excellent lifestyle options with very low levels of congestion,” she said. “Extremely low-interest rates, improved lending conditions from the banks, government stimulus and an absolute lack of supply in both sales and rental properties are also key fundamentals in driving the current market.”
“It’s very close to the perfect storm for vendors right now, as everyone wants to buy and only a very low number of people actually want to sell.”
Prestige Properties
Reputable and refined, North Adelaide is known for its stunning mansions and tall terraces on leafy lined streets, where a statue of naval officer and the state’s first surveyor-general Colonel William Light stands atop Montefiore Hill, overlooking the city he planned.
North Adelaide’s charismatic old homes and well-to-do residents have long defined the suburb’s distinct social, cultural and geographic differences.
All but one of Adelaide’s 10 most expensive homes were built in the 1800s and they remain highly sought after as proven in late 2020 when the historic North Adelaide mansion at Molesworth Street went under contract within three days of hitting the market.
Sold through Sotheby’s South Australia, the $4.5 million sale price made it one of North Adelaide’s most expensive transactions on record.
Neighbourhood amenities such as grand old pubs, modern hip cafes, gourmet supermarkets and a diverse range of restaurants contribute greatly to the village atmosphere, while the impressive and revamped Adelaide Oval sporting ground lies between the suburb and the central business district.
A walk along the River Torrens leads to the Adelaide Zoo, the city’s aquatic centre, and the education facilities, such as North Adelaide Primary, are not only among the state’s oldest but with Adelaide High School, among the top performers too.
The rich selection of amenities contributes significantly to the appeal, Mr Giordano said, with buyers eager to get into the area.
“Very rarely on the city fringe do you have such green and private living so conveniently laid out. When you’re talking about the Adelaide Hills or beach lifestyle, they’re lifestyle choices at the expense of convenience,” he said. “In North Adelaide, you make no compromise. It’s the closest suburb to the city and it has some of the grandest and most historically resonant properties in Adelaide.”
The exclusive location and quality of housing are what attracts the suburb’s two main demographics, Ms Williams said, with families attracted to the lifestyle and close proximity to elite schools while professional couples appreciate the cosmopolitan lifestyle, golf courses, parklands and close proximity to the Adelaide Oval.
Outlook 2021
Buyer interest in Adelaide is widespread. The number of eyeballs per online listing city-wide increased dramatically between 2019 and 2020, and according to CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless, the city received minimal disruption during the pandemic.
“Adelaide housing values reached a new record high in November after recording five consecutive months of growth,” Mr Lawless said in his review of the 2020 market.
“Adelaide’s housing market has seen minimal disruption through the Covid period so far, only recording one month where values dipped lower—a drop of only 0.2% in June.”
Figures released by realestate.com.au also show suburbs such as North Adelaide are among the most sought-after by online house hunters, recording a 92% increase in views per listing in 2020 compared to 2019.
One of 2020’s hottest listings was an 1878-built sandstone villa on Mills Terrace, North Adelaide, which attracted almost 18,000 views in the leadup to its Dec. 20 auction through Williams Luxury.
Six registered bidders took part in the auction of 52 Mills Terrace, North Adelaide, which sold for $3.3million on December 20.
Williams Luxury
The grand and imposing four-bedroom home occupying a 1200 square metre landscaped block on one of North Adelaide’s most prestigious streets sold at auction for $3.3million and attracted six registered local and interstate-based bidders.
“North Adelaide generally has a very low level of luxury homes available to the market and the most prestigious properties can be tightly held by the same family for generations,” Ms Williams said.
“The market conditions at the end of 2020 were very unusual for the area with several luxury homes coming onto the market around the same time,” she said. “All of these properties have now sold and we are back to experiencing traditional very low levels of new properties coming onto the market.“
CoreLogic figures for North Adelaide show the suburb’s median house price first broke the $1 million barrier in October 2020, while SQM Research listing data highlights the shortage of property available for sale, with 28 houses available in January, the lowest since June 2020.
Mr Fox remains confident about Adelaide’s outlook, particularly given its reputation as a “safe haven” when it comes to health and the economy, two contributing factors that had lured many expats back from overseas as well as new residents from interstate.
“Our inner-city, hills, regional and beachside locations have seen significant growth and are always sought-after, but we have seen demand and growth pretty much across the board,” he said.
“The prestige market is extremely strong and it’s probably the most opportune time to sell in years. Stock levels are relatively low and it’s not unusual to receive a dozen or so offers on a prestige property, and we can’t see it slowing down this year,” he added.
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Kit Braden, an executive at French beauty empire L’Occitane, has spent every winter for the past 13 years at the stone vacation home.
2 min
A historic Barbados estate with a 300-year-old villa and 11 acres overlooking the Caribbean Sea is now for sale with a guide price of $22.5 million.
The seller is Kit Braden, chairman of the U.K. branch of French beauty empire L’Occitane Group, whose family has spent every winter for the last 13 years at the island property, known as Fustic Estate.
“It’s very much a family house,” Braden said. “We love having a lot of people there. It’s a collection point to keep everyone together.”
The main villa dates to 1712, though it’s been reimagined and expanded substantially over the years.
It spans 13,000 square feet and features seven en suite bedrooms across three wings, as well as expansive verandas, stone courtyards and rows of louvered doors in gay Caribbean pastels.
In the 1970s, when the home was owned by Charles Graves—brother of British poet Robert Graves—it was reimagined by stage designer Oliver Messel, one of the foremost theater designers of the last century. Messel expanded the home, added a lagoon pool with a natural waterfall and other theatrical features, according to Braden.
“The whole place is a little bit magical,” he said.
The home sits about 350 feet above the water, and surrounded by lush gardens that slope towards the water.
“We look down through our garden—which is about 12 acres of tropical gardens and palm trees and wonderful old mahogany trees—onto the Caribbean,” Braden said.
He and his wife first saw the property on New Year’s Eve 2013, during a quick trip from where they were staying in Grenada.
The couple spent an hour walking the perimeter, some of it still untouched jungle, in the pouring rain.
“By the time we got back, I had fallen in love with it,” Braden said.
His wife, however, wasn’t so sure. But in Braden’s telling, a second visit in sunnier weather with two of their children brought her around.
“She had to be talked into that it was a jolly good idea; now she absolutely loves it,” he said.
When they bought the property, the edge that runs along the waterfront was a jungle, so they cleared the ridge and transformed it into gardens.
They also bought an additional sea-level parcel with two beach cottages, giving the property direct access to the water and the town below via a five-minute walk.
The property also has a 15-person staff, a reflecting pond, an outdoor pavilion suitable for yoga and a commercial grade kitchen that can serve more than 100 guests, according to a brochure from Knight Frank, which posted the listing in March. They did not provide further comment.
For Braden, the property is special because of its natural beauty, its proximity to the town of Saint Lucy and its history—which dates way way back to when the island of Barbados was first formed via tectonic activity.
“It was basically tectonic plates that collided about a million years ago so the seabed is the top of the hill,” Braden said. “We’re on coral rock.”
As a result, Fustic Estate includes an extensive network of caves that were likely used by the Arawaks, a Venezuelan fishing tribe that followed the fish to these islands about a thousand years ago.
“If the fish were good they’d camp here,” Braden said. “There’s evidence that they stayed there in those caves, they lived there in good winters.”
Now it’s someone else’s turn to live on the land shared by Arawaks, the plantation owners of 1712, Charles Graves and the Braden brood.
