Is Adelaide better than Melbourne? We think so – and so does the latest housing data.
If a Miss World Cities pageant were to exist, Australia would have a seriously stellar line-up of contenders.
But the crown would unequivocally be handed to Adelaide, with the South Aussie capital having recently been named the most beautiful city in the world.
The accolade, handed out by Architectural Digest, came as no surprise to locals but, unsurprisingly, ruffled the feathers of many poor sport Melburnians – including Victorian premier Jacinta Allan – who couldn’t help but take poorly aimed pot shots at our beautiful city.
To help settle the dispute once and for all, we’ve looked at some hard data and spoke to our non-biased colleagues to put together seven reason why Adelaide is – and always will be – better than Melbourne.
Adelaide’s Victoria Square viewed from South to North with office buildings and traffic at morning time
OUR HOMES ARE CHEAPER
Money, as the great philosopher Sir Paul McCartney once said, can’t buy you love.
It can buy you a little less stress though, and a little less stress can convert to a little more friendliness. So while our home prices stay below Melbourne’s (although we do seem to be gaining on them at a rapid rate), it makes sense that we’d be the friendlier city.
But let’s look at the data.
According to PropTrack, houses across greater Adelaide sell for a median of $760,000, while units transact for $510,000.
In Melbourne, buyers have to fork out an additional $115,000 to afford a house at a median price of $875,000, while units cost $95,000 more than they do in Adelaide, at a median cost of $605,000.
But wait, there’s more! First-home buyers in SA, who build or buy a new home, will get a $15,000 grant and avoid paying any stamp duty, regardless of the value of their home, under a new initiative announced by the state government earlier this year.
As for Melbourne, The Allan Labor Government has come as far as abolishing stamp duty for commercial and industrial properties but in terms of residential tax cuts … well, you’ll still have to pay up, making Adelaide the logical choice for home buyers.
Selling? Buying? Investing? Adelaide is the place to be wherever you’re at on your property journey and we think, Xing Zhao – who just sold his family home of 33 years in West Lakes – would agree. Image/Russell Millard Photography
IT’S AN INVESTOR’S MARKET
Adelaide’s not only the most beautiful city in the world but, according to a number of market reports, is now also kicking goals when it comes to investor activity.
Only earlier this week, the Advertiser revealed house prices across the city could end the year 7 per cent higher than they started, with a further 5 to 6 per cent growth predicted in 2025.
House prices in Melbourne, meanwhile, have seen a more restrained growth of just 3.2 per cent – meaning sellers and investors are unlikely to experience the same returns on their assets as they would in Adelaide.
Adelaide is also kicking goals when it comes to housing supply, with the city recording the greatest year-on-year increase in listings for any capital city on realestate.com.au over the past year.
Listings are up by 17.4 per cent, according to PropTrack, compared to 14.6 per cent in Melbourne.
Adelaide is flanked by the ocean on one site and three world-renowned wine regions on the others. Picture: Stephen Brookes
LIVEABILITY
Melburnites love to point out that Adelaide is just “a big country town” and to be fair, they are partially right. But it’s a stigma many of us locals are proud of. After all, name another capital city where you’re 20 minutes from the beach and some of the world’s best wine regions, including the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa and McLaren Vale. Actually, name another city that is flanked by three wine regions … seriously, we’re waiting.
WE HAVE MORE SUNSHINE
According to people who measure such things, Adelaide receives an average of 2765 hours of sunshine a year, with Melbourne getting just 2362. Everyone knows that sunshine on the noggin does something to the brain that results in an all-round happier demeanour. Four hundred extra hours of happiness-inducing rays are always going to result in a friendlier city.
Both people and pets are happier hear. Ruby Kowald and her therapy dog, Mabel at Semaphore Beach. Picture: Kelly Barnes
OUR BARISTAS ARE MORE REASONABLE
Adelaide has a long and enduring coffee culture, but the men and women slinging our flat whites every morning lack the militant edge of their Melbourne counterparts. Want it extra hot? Half strength? In a mug? Nobody’s judging you in Adelaide (not out loud, anyway). Try that in Melbourne and you’ll be chased out of the cafe by an over-caffeinated tattooed crazy person wielding a machete.
THE TRAFFIC WAVE
Let someone in from a side street on Goodwood Road or Churchill Road or Payneham Rd and you’ll get “the wave”, that little sign of acknowledgment that says “thank you, fellow driver, your courtesy has made my commute a little easier and I appreciate you”. Do you get “the wave” in Melbourne? Nobody actually knows because nobody’s been let in from a side street since 1963.
WE’RE NOT FRIED BY OUR DAILY COMMUTE
If you’re commuting from Ballarat every morning you’re probably not going to be in the mood for niceties when you’ve finally found a place to park and arrived at the office. If you’re cruising in on the Southern Expressway – which has run in two directions for several years now – you’re going to get to work as fresh as a Seaford Meadows daisy. Smiles all around!
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