First published 14 Nov 2026, 12:30am
Despite a large segment of Adelaide’s housing market reporting value losses in recent months, several areas are holding up well and have been identified as places to buy in a new national property report.
Hotspotting’s National Thermometer Index – which looks at which markets are heating up based on growing sales patterns and steady or rising prices, which are cooling down and where the next opportunities are emerging – has analysed 3700 suburbs nationally and revealed SA to still house some prime buying opportunities.
On the whole, the number of markets across Adelaide defined has warm and hot had dropped over the past year from 91 per cent to 86 per cent, with 70 markets hot, and none cold.
Regional SA didn’t fare as well, with just 33 per cent warm or hot, five hot and two cold.
Of the 15 ‘hottest’ local government areas nationally, nine were located in metropolitan Adelaide, with another one in regional South Australia.
Onkaparinga topped the list, ahead of Mitcham, Light, Campbelltown, Unley, Marion, Norwood Payneham and St Peters, Adelaide Hills, Tea Tree Gully and Port Adelaide Enfield.
The annual trend for all of these was described as “steady”, while Port Adelaide Enfield was “cooling”.
Hotspotting managing director Tim Graham said he would be surprised if areas of increasing sales were experiencing an investor exodus, as many were able to continue to negatively gear.
“I think at the moment what we’re seeing is that we’ve got a lot of people starting to feel the pinch in terms of the higher interest rate environment,” Mr Graham said.
He said Australia’s cooling market presented opportunities for buyers with 942 markets across the nation warmer than a year ago.
“It’s not a complete free fall across Australia – it’s a lot more fragmented than that; we call it more of a market rotation,” he said.
“You want to be buying in a market that is starting to warm, not one that’s starting to cool.”
No SA suburbs made the 15 coolest LGAs list, in which buyers should proceed with caution.
Of the 12 suburbs around the nation identified as “Hot and still heating”, two from South Australia made the list – Newton and Norwood.
Joe Hibeljic of Ray White. Supplied
Ray White Norwood agent Joe Hibeljic sells in Newton and Norwood and says he was not surprised to hear Newton identified as a national hotspot.
“It makes sense – properties are very tightly held there and it offers a fantastic sense of community, particularly for Italian buyers and other younger European buyers as there’s a huge contingent of that community in there and has been for generations,” he said.
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“The demographic in there is really changing from young to old, and the suburb offers options at a range of pricepoints, from big family homes on large blocks through to more affordable homes on smaller blocks that have come about as a result of a huge amount of development in the area.
“It’s a really exciting suburb and I think it will continue to be a hotspot going forward.”
Benjamin Marrone and his wife Tasfia outside the Newton home they have recently sold. Pic: Supplied
Ben and Tasfia Marrone, both project managers and both 29, sold their Newton home in February after living there for three years and Mr Marrone says were they able to find another suitable home in the suburb they would have moved to another home there and not nearby Glynde.
“It’s got so much going for it,” Mr Marrone says.
“It’s definitely one of the ones you’d want to want to buy because it’s got everything you need there – shops, parks, cafes, open spaces and the community there is just incredible.”
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