SA Adelaide Beachside suburbs Review

Part six in our series of area reviews, David and I will cover off on the beachside suburbs of Adelaide – providing a mix from the highest valued areas down to the more affordable options available.

Areas within this review: Seacliff, Brighton, Glenelg, West Beach, Henley Beach, Grange, Semaphore, North Haven, Somerton Park, Port Noarlunga

Area Overview

Adelaide beachside suburbs – stretching from the north-western reaches of Adelaide to the outer south cover over 61km of beachfront onto the St Vincent Gulf. Owing to the long stretch of suburbs straddling the coast, this has meant that there is a large disparity of prices for beachside property, from high value property near the CBD to the outer reaches of metropolitan property which have medians at a half of those more desirable areas.

Much like most of Australia, property near popular beaches represent some of the highest value property in the metropolitan area.

Median Prices



Demographics





Like much of most suburbs above the median value - the beachside suburbs show higher incomes and age than the average in Australia. There isn't a direct trend between median, income and age between the individual suburbs, however you will note that Port Noarlunga does represent a significantly lower average household income and median - which is understandable considering the geographic location - a significant distance from the inner suburbs.

Why the Beachside suburbs?

Here’s a few reasons why an investor may consider beachside suburbs in Adelaide:

• For those following a strategy of buying well placed, demand driven property for capital growth you can’t go wrong with beachside suburbs.

• Much like Adelaide’s inner suburbs, comparative the eastern States you can still purchase desirable tightly held property adjacent to the beach within a reasonable budget.

Corey’s Suburb Pick

Semaphore


One of the more affordable suburb options in Adelaide – Semaphore is the most popular northern-most beach in metropolitan Adelaide. Adjacent to old the old industrial Port Adelaide, it has struggled for some time with a lingering stigma and poor economic conditions. This has changed over the last decade however, with ‘hipster’ popular growing in the area and improved business conditions – it’s now an area which you can buy prime beach adjacent property for prices slightly above the metropolitan median.

Whilst you’re definitely not buying into the bottom of this area on a multi-cycle perspective, gentrification is nowhere near complete and we’re likely to see Semaphore and the greater area improve with time.

Investment strategies which might suit the area: Renovations, buy and hold capital growth play

Corey’s “what to avoid”

Properties on main/arterial roads

Much like in any other suburb, avoiding arterial roads is important when considering beachside suburbs. Outside of esplanade beach-facing properties, the main arterials suffer from the significantly higher traffic/congestion during summer periods, without having that positive of having direct beach/sea views. This can translate to capital growth under-performance – as always with millions of properties in Australia, buy properties which don’t have underlying issues which will reduce their desirability compared to others in the local area.

 

Adelaide's Beach Suburbs

Out of all our reviews we’ve done so far, this has been my favourite as the beach is close to my heart. I’ve lived in 2 of the suburbs mentioned here and enjoy the lifestyle of being walking distance to the beach. I can tell I’m not alone, which makes these suburbs an excellent choice for owner occupiers and renters alike.


Glenelg Real Estate

These are great spots for investors seeking capital growth opportunities as these suburbs are relatively cost effective, especially considering their counterparts in other states. The closest beach to the Adelaide CBD would be Henley Beach which as Corey mentioned above has a *house* median price of around $700k. Compare this to City Beach, WA ($1.6mil) or Manly, NSW ($2.1mil) and it’s easy to see how this could present an opportunity.


As explained in our last area review, vacancy rate of suburbs and the rental vs owner occupied ratios are important metrics to look and how they interact with each other. Owner occupiers generally take better care of their properties and thus the neighbourhoods look nicer overall. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong number here, but if the trend towards higher rental population is increasing whilst the vacancy rate is also increasing then an oversupply issue is imminent such as with Glenelg units.



Unfortunately, our data source does not split units and houses for these numbers but to a local set of eyes the graphs are very telling.





Median rents in the area

I’ve graphed the median rents in the area and have noted both house and unit numbers for comparison. You’ll notice that yields are relatively low here (by Adelaide standards) – that’s the price you pay for higher capital growth potential.




What are each of these suburbs like?

Seacliff – A sleepy suburb with one of Adelaide’s nicest beaches, with a young professional owner occupying demographic. The last of the good swimming beaches heading south until you get to Christies Beach as Kingston Park, Marino, Hallett Cove and O’Sullivans Beach are all cliff facing. Has a train station.

Brighton – A very trendy place and home to some exquisite real estate (such as Julia Gillards home). Its main street (Jetty Rd) is a big row of cafes and restaurants that draw crowds for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If there was ever a time you wanted smashed avo in Adelaide, this would probably be where you’d find it. Has a train station on the express route.

Glenelg – Out of all of Adelaide’s beach side suburbs, this is the one most of our interstate readers will be familiar with. It’s quite a hit with the tourists, mostly because its the easiest beach to get to (since Adelaide’s only tram goes from the CBD to Glenelg and back). It has the largest retail strip out of all the Adelaide beach suburbs, plus dozens and dozens of restaurants, cafes, etc. Has beautiful old stone character housing that are very grand to say the least, but the expansion of retail and tourism has made it a little grungy.

West Beach – Located at the mouth of the River Torrens (the one that winds its way through the Adelaide CBD), is a bit cheaper than its neighbouring counterparts. This may be because the houses are a little bit older and daggier, lack of train station, or because of the neighbouring Sewage Treatment Works to the south.

Henley Beach – Probably my favourite swimming beach, the area is basically the Bondi of Adelaide. Good pubs and bars means it has more of a party atmosphere than the others above, yet still has is fair share of character housing (as reflected in the median sales price). It is also the closest beach to the CBD, straight down Henley Beach Rd (with excellent bus routes) so is popular with renters.

Grange – The next beach up from Henley Beach, so also quite popular. Doesn’t have as many dining options but does have a train station whereas Henley Beach does not. Has a fair bit of newer housing as knock down and rebuild strategy has been popular here.

Semaphore – A suburb that has gone through good gentrification, and which is arguably still occurring. Has some gorgeous character housing yet has a country town vibe – the main street has iconic grand old pubs and a privately owned retro cinema. It’s the closest beach to Port Adelaide so its success will largely depend on how that goes.

North Haven – Located up around the peninsula, Has Adelaide’s main yacht club and marina, so attracts those suited to those lifestyles to the area. West and east of Lady Gowrie Drive is noticeable in age of dwelling. Serviced by the Osborne train station. If buy

Somerton Park – Wedged between Brighton and Glenelg, it’s a great location. The main concern is lack of transport since Brighton has a train station and Glenelg has the tram, leaving Somerton Park with not a lot.

Port Noarlunga – A cheaper option for those who need it, and a fair bit further away too. It’s a lovely little spot though. Despite being the next beach down from Christies Beach (which was covered in our Outer Southern suburbs article), has quite a different feel to it.


Dave’s Suburb Pick:

Seacliff

Seacliff once upon a time was a holiday destination but is now one of Adelaide’s nicest metropolitan beaches. It has a higher residential: commercial ratio than the other suburbs listed, has a good owner occupier ratio and is tightly held.

It has an awesome pub/hotel and a café on the beach front, as well as a surf lifesaving club and a yacht club, but doesn’t have the café or retail strips that the others have. I think it will in due course, which in turn will make its values explode.

Being adjacent to Brighton but less well known, it’s believed it’ll catch up in due course.



Dave’s “what to avoid”

Older style units. We’ve mentioned avoiding units in a few of our other suburb guides as its quite a common theme in Adelaide – houses are easier to let here and have higher capital gain potential. However, units are quite common in these areas so to avoid them completely would be foolish. I’d mostly avoid the older ones as their strata groups often have hefty repair bills up, especially being beside the ocean and having concrete erode.

 

Love living in this region. Often go to the pubs and restaurants around Brighton and Glenelg. Quite a family vibe in Glenelg on warm weekend nights. These are just a few snaps from my phone while dining in the area.

One thing I love about Adelaide is that the sun sets over the ocean - beautiful sunsets.

 

I'll second that, For an OO Semaphore would be my pick of the bunch. Great piece guys!

 

Looks good for OO

Still awaiting on upswing for SA, what's your thoughts @Xenia what will drive the growth

 

Buy well MTR - in high owner occupier areas, close to city, add value through active strategies like development. There won't be any massive capital growth in Adelaide within the next few years at least.

 

Something to consider if looking to buy somerton park, Brighton region. The area on the beachside of Brighton rd is more expensive and better regarded.

You'll often see cheaper houses advertised in these suburbs however they are generally on the other side of the road and are valued less accordingly.

Another plus for the area is its proximity to Marion shopping centre, imo the best shopping in Adelaide.

 

It will be interesting what happens at the next state election, a change of government may help accelerate things.

 

Possibly, unemployment rates do have an effect.

 

Maybe, is there a third option party that I'm not aware of that's in the running?

 

Hi

Great thread about beachside suburbs in Adelaide.

May I ask does Adelaide have any suburbs where the property (apartment or house) has true water frontage and a mooring out the back for a boat?

Regards,

alicudi

 

North Haven

 

West Lakes..although lake/riverfront not beachfront

www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-sa-west+lakes-124673074

 

North Haven Marina

 

Hi

The only waterfront property in North Haven with 2 x boat moorings. It is now under contract, I wonder what price something like this would sell for?

107 Gulf Point Drive North Haven SA 5018 - House for Sale #124208458 - realestate.com.au

regards,

alicudi

 

Beautiful house.

2 doors up sold for $935k in May last year.

 

Good write up. I have lived in 3 of the listed suburbs. I love Adelaide beaches. Perhaps the only thing they are missing are some waves.

@Corey Batt, the thing I dislike about Semaphore is that it's the first beach those coming from the northern suburbs hit. So while those living in Semaphore may gentrify, the visitors may not It's a nice stretch of beach though!

@D.T., must admit the couple of times I went to the Seacliff Hotel (a few years ago now) I was left disappointed (with the food), maybe it has improved or just lucked out on the day. Nice beach, being on the train line is a positive although recall a lot of the crime in the area (reported in Neighbourhood Watch) was around Acacia Street and Yacca Road, something to consider for those buying in Seacliff. Where do you see the retail strip going? I don't recall seeing much free space except perhaps around the caravan park / lifesaver club. Seacliff has a nice walking trail / boardwalk that goes all the way around to Hallett Cove: Hallett Cove Boardwalk (Marion Coastal Walking Trail) | Walking SA

Do either of you have any thoughts on Marino? Have seen some very impressive views for the price, though not technically a beachside suburb

 

Ease up Baron, I'm part of that northern riff raff that hoons down Salisbury hwy to Semaphore every summer!

 

I disagree. Crime is not a concern in the area at all. I checked neighborhood watch newsletters and incidents were spread across all streets not just those ones. And the overall quantity was low relative to other suburbs I briefly looked up - warradale, Brighton, somerton park etc.

Perhaps Wheatland Rd. It has a couple of small things already, plus has some houses that look like they used to be commercial. I remember Jetty Rd Brighton expanding in the same way.

Yea its lovely, I should brave the stair climb more regularly

Doesn't have a beach which is what turns me off it, just a cliff face. There's some awe inspiring real estate there though for sure.

 

Can only share my experience and from reading NW in the area for 6 years (2010 - 2016) crimes were consistently greater in Seacliff vs Brighton and those are the two streets that appeared most often. I'd expect the overall crime rate would still be considered low by metro wide standards. Is there somewhere online you can check this stuff for suburbs?