Light, South Australia: The affordable tight-knit region where prices are up 55 per cent
When local real estate agent Donna Daniel moved to a small region in South Australia, she didn’t realise that she was moving to a place that’d continue to shine bright as each year passed.
Enter Light in South Australia, the perfect place for peace and quiet but close enough to the hustle and bustle of the city.
Located about 40 kilometres from Adelaide city, the region’s housing market has gone from strength to strength. But it wasn’t always the case.
Daniel, who works at Professionals Kapunda, says that when she moved to the region, it had just been hit by the 2015 Pinery bushfires, which burned more than 85,000 hectares of land across the Light region.
“It was a horrific event that swept through within hours. It was very scary at the time and I think the community coming together was very inspiring … we were new to the area, we didn’t know anyone or which roads to take but everyone was more than willing to help,” she says.
“It was the willingness of the community, their shared desire to help that helped us here and make us feel at home.”
Today, Light – which includes the suburbs of Freeling, Greenock, Kapunda and Roseworthy – is home to more than 16,300 people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Domain’s House Price Report showed Light’s median house price is $592,500, up a whopping 18.5 per cent over the past year. In the past five years, prices have shot up by 55.9 per cent.
Light’s housing market has outstripped that of the state’s capital city and Australia’s dynamite capital market, Adelaide, which recorded a median of $875,034, up 12.7 per cent in the last year.
In Kapunda, house prices increased by 17.9 per cent in the past year to $395,000.
“This is a small community, so we see a lot of locals swapping around properties,” she says. “There hasn’t been a huge amount of interstate buyers, really only locals, and because there’s hasn’t been a lot of stock, so when properties do go on the market, it pushes prices up because people want property.”
“Kapunda is small but it’s also big enough that not everyone is in each other’s business but there are a lot of multi-generational families here so it is a tight-knit community.”
Daniel adds that completing the Northern Expressway has given locals more reason to remain in the suburb. The 23-kilometre highway has provided an easier commute into the city for many Light residents.
“It’s made the biggest difference for a lot of locals who need to head into the city … people used to say we’re too far but now it’s an easy drive into the city, it’s benefitted the region,” she says.
The region has long been a beacon of affordability, particularly as house prices in Adelaide have skyrocketed, according to Guy Draper of Homburg Real Estate.
“Prices have gone through the roof and if you’re from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, you’ll probably laugh at the prices of Adelaide but relatively speaking, Adelaide’s house prices have gone up and people are chasing affordability,” he says.
“Some of the buyers I’m dealing with are just coming out of Adelaide and seeking something more affordable and this region offers that and more. With all the development happening, they’re seeing more value in it.”
Draper is selling 48 Murray Street in Greenock and says interest for the property has predominantly been from city slickers seeking affordable housing.
The property spans 1208 square metres of land and boasts manicured gardens. It is a four-bedroom house that has been renovated, with high ceilings throughout and open-plan living, dining, and kitchen areas.
“I had a lot of interest in this property, and as I was talking to people, a lot of the interested buyers were people all coming out of Adelaide,” he says. “The block sizes here are better, and the prices are better, too.
“I specialise mostly in the Barossa region and it is generally a little more expensive than Light and I think there are people with aspirations to be in the heart of Barossa and can’t afford to live there so they would look into the Light area as a result.”
Jordan Varley of Harcourts Barossa Real Estate anticipates Light’s housing market only to go one way: up, as the region continues to develop suburbs like Roseworthy.
ABS showed Roseworthy had a population of just 1041, with the local government forecasting the suburb to be home to 10,000 people by 2033 with between 2500 and 3700 new homes.
“Roseworthy has been subdivided and people are buying 500 square metre blocks there and paying about $285,000 for those allotments which is huge,” he says. “That price would get you a couple of acres if they purchased in Freeling, for instance but because there’s so much development that will happen there, people want to get in early.”
“There’s potential for growth and that will just create a domino effect to nearby suburbs and regions.”
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