Now with Beer Garden for our smoking patrons.
This was from the australian, has a very positive outlook in particular for Adelaide.
Apartment prices lead the housing market recovery
Majella Corrigan July 07, 2007
NEWS that there is a residential recovery under way in most capital cities, with the exception of Perth, should pique investors' interest.
But figures released last week by RP Data and Rismark International for April and May also show an unexpected result.
The researchers found that the prices of apartments and units, which account for about 15 per cent of the Australian market, have rebounded more strongly than houses.
Between January and April house prices rose nearly 8 per cent in Brisbane, 5.7 per cent in Adelaide and 4.1 per cent in Darwin, while in Sydney and Canberra it was 1.4 and 1.2 per cent respectively.
With the exception of Perth all capitals experienced a faster pace of growth in unit prices for the same period. Darwin prices rose 13.5 per cent, followed by 10.5 per cent in Canberra, 9 per cent in Brisbane and 7.6 per cent in Adelaide. Melbourne prices rose 4.7 per cent and Sydney 1.3 per cent.
The reason for Darwin's price surge is most likely the resources boom; in Canberra it's commercial construction activity and the high number of public servants (the nation's capital is second only to Sydney in the cost of renting).
But one often-overlooked city may yet show some of the best growth of all, and at a lower entry price.
In Adelaide, there are significant resources projects planned and under way, and the city has had solid if unspectacular growth in its housing sector. For those struggling to find something they can afford it's the cheapest capital, with a median unit price of $245,000.
According to Macquarie Bank's latest Market Outlook, South Australia has seen exceptional improvement in migration, which has maintained the underlying demand for property. Adelaide's rental market is also tight.
The Real Estate Institute of South Australia recently reported that Adelaide's vacancy rate was 1.44 per cent - and that represented an increase.
"While anything below 2 per cent is extremely low, it is still a noticeable improvement on the conditions Adelaide has been experiencing for most of the year," REISA said in late June.
RP Data chief executive Graham Mirabito points out that while it's the cheapest, Adelaide also has the highest return for units at 5.3 per cent, slightly above Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.
Another key figure RP Data calculates is the "days on the market" (how long a property takes to sell).
While for Adelaide this is 56 days, longer than other cities, Mirabito believes that's most likely to be just a symptom of Adelaide's smaller population.
If you're thinking these figures differ from those you've read elsewhere, it's because RP Data-Rismark interprets data on a like for like basis.
The researcher has used a "hedonic method" for its index, which breaks down the information about properties - most importantly, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and land size - gives them a value and then puts them back together. This allows a comparison between, say, a five-bedroom and a two-bedroom house, or a house with a pool against one without. Whatever method used, apartment prices have finally bottomed and are showing growth and better returns, particularly in Adelaide.
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