Get the latest news to your email inbox FREE WHYALLA - The Rotary Clubs of Whyalla and Whyalla Norrie have joined forces with charity program ShelterBox Get an all ACCESS PASS to the News and your Digital Edition with an online subscription Get an all access pass to the News and your Digital Edition with an online subscription That might have used to have been the case but new data shows there is just one suburb in all of metropolitan Adelaide where you are better off buying than being a tenant Compare the Market data shows Adelaide city units or apartments are the only properties out of the 227 the comparison company has data for where you’re better off buying than renting whereas monthly repayments on a median-priced $526,058 unit are $2520 – some $229 less SIGN UP NOW FOR OUR FREE REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER Regional buyers hoping to save by buying have more choice with properties in 11 out of the 32 towns the company has data for cheaper to own than rent The biggest saving here can be found in Port Pirie West where househunters can save $582 per month by forgoing $1602 a month in rent in favour of $1020 in mortgage repayments While it used to be cheaper to buy than rent Here a month’s rent will set you back $3637 – some $6615 less than the $10,252 you would be paying on a median priced property of more than $2.139m Compare the Market property expert Andrew Winter said while it was cheaper to rent than buy in most instances there could still be a benefit to doing it “If owning a home is part of your long-term plan you might find it’s worth paying a bit more to have a little slice of Australia to call your own,” he said “If you don’t currently need a lot of space a unit somewhere central and convenient may be a great stepping stone to kick start your property journey if you’re able to hold onto that property for at least a few years you’ll generally bank some equity when values go up “While you may be able to borrow a bit more it’s important to speak to an expert and stress test your mortgage to make sure you can afford your repayments comfortably is crucial to avoid paying more interest than you need to.” third parties have written and supplied the content and we are not responsible for it completeness or reliability of the information nor do we accept any liability or responsibility arising in any way from omissions or errors contained in the content We do not recommend sponsored lenders or loan products and we cannot introduce you to sponsored lenders We strongly recommend that you obtain independent advice before you act on the content realestate.com.au is owned and operated by ASX-listed REA Group Ltd (REA:ASX) © REA Group Ltd. 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A woman has been arrested for drug trafficking after police searched a house in Whyalla Norrie Police investigating a robbery at Whyalla Norrie today have released an image of the suspect a man armed with a knife entered a fast food outlet on McDouall Stuart Avenue and threatened staff The man stole money from the till before leaving on foot The suspect is described as being of Caucasian appearance about 170-180cm tall with a sold/muscular build The suspect was captured on CCTV and Whyalla Police would like to hear from anyone who may recognise him Anyone who saw any suspicious activity or a man fitting that description in the area is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 Find out which suburbs in Regional South Australia made the top 4 list in Canstar’s Bright Starters Australian First Home Buyer Report powered by Hotspotting There are plenty of great locations in Regional South Australia where you can buy a home for less than $231,000. This was the cut-off price we used to come up with our ‘Bright Starter’ suburbs in this region. (For more on why we chose this see our full report.) price isn’t the only consideration for first home buyers A good lifestyle and prospects for growth should also be on the checklist In Canstar’s inaugural Bright Starters Australian First Home Buyer Report we used five key metrics – sales volumes infrastructure and proximity to work and amenities – to identify suburbs that are desirable and likely to grow in value over time This is a key regional centre north-east of Adelaide It has a thriving local economy based on agriculture and viticulture It’s home to around 1,000 wine growing businesses – accounting for over a quarter of Australia’s annual crush There has been added input recently from renewable energy developments which have created new jobs Real estate demand is high and vacancies close to zero Houses in Berri and nearby towns are typically in the $200,000s among those that have prospects for growth Port Augusta is a strategically located crossroads town which is becoming a major centre for renewable energy development each worth hundreds of millions of dollars are happening replacing the town’s former role as a venue for coal-fired power For those with employment in the resources and energy sector The low pricing levels might suggest Whyalla Norrie doesn’t have much to offer but there are significant centres of activity The University of South Australia has a campus there and Westland Shopping Centre is the largest on the Eyre Peninsula Quest Whyalla and various schools and colleges Sales activity has picked up markedly in the past year and vacancies are very low here Whyalla is one of South Australia’s biggest regional centres with major connections to the resources sector and is something of a boom-bust town as a consequence A legacy of the downturn is houses priced below $200,000 in places like Whyalla Stuart Regional South Australia has few strong options below our price ceiling so only four locations made the cut One town that sits a little outside our price parameters (with a median price of $255,000) but ticks other boxes is Kadina which is why we are giving it an honourable mention it is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famous for their mining history It’s an important agricultural area and is close to seaside Wallaroo Vacancies are rare and it’s cheaper to own here than to rent Cover image source: Alex Cimbal/Shutterstock.com Terry is the founder and Managing Director of hotspotting.com.au which he created in 2006 to help investors find the best places to buy Terry has been a specialist researcher and writer on Australian residential property in a career spanning four decades During that time he has published four books invest in or apply for a financial or credit product Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the PDS Before you elect to terminate or modify existing lending arrangements it is recommended that you consider all associated fees and application costs as well as the timing and impact these changes could have on your wider financial arrangements and personal circumstances All information about performance returns is historical Past performance should not be relied upon as an indicator of future performance; unit prices and the value of your investment may fall or rise The information in this article is not legal advice nor is it intended to be used as a substitute for obtaining independent professional advice professional adviser or the relevant government or statutory authorities before making any decisions and positions expressed in this piece are the views of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Canstar Canstar is not authorised or registered to provide legal This article is not intended to provide and should not be relied upon for legal Any information or advice of this nature in this piece is provided by the guest author(s) or interviewee(s) alone We recommend you consult the relevant government or statutory authorities and seek advice from a qualified and registered (where applicable) professional adviser before making any legal financial or purchase decision.   The examples provided in the article are not based on actual products or real consumer circumstances The information in this article is of a general nature only and does not take into consideration your objectives even if the example is similar to your own circumstances You should make your own enquiries and calculations based on your own personal circumstances as well as finding out specific product costs rates or features that may be relevant to you. You should consider seeking independent advice before making a purchase CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) Looking to get into the market without breaking the bank you need look no further than Adelaide’s northern suburbs found houses in Adelaide’s north were the most affordable in the state With an estimated median value of $368,000 Elizabeth North – 40 minutes north of Adelaide – has metropolitan Adelaide’s most affordable houses Smithfield Plains was the next most affordable at $401,000 while Elizabeth South and Gawler West both recorded median values of $403,000 Smithfield and Elizabeth rounded out the top 10 all recording median values of $454,000 or less Edge Realty’s Mike Lao said Adelaide’s north had a lot to offer “There are some fantastic options in the north and it does offer some really good buying many of whom settle in the northern suburbs particularly with the number of new homes forecast for the area “With how much demand there is here I can’t see any reason why values wouldn’t continue to climb but they will still retain their relative affordability.” See inside: House in ‘parent poisoning’ case hits the market Shock SA mortgage stat as more rate pain looms Want to rent a room? Even they’re hard to find Oodie founder sells luxe beachside home for more than $3m Kilburn in Adelaide’s inner north has metropolitan Adelaide’s cheapest units at an estimated median value of $362,000 just $5000 less than the second-most affordable suburb of Salisbury Paralowie units will set you back $381,000 on average while Kurralta Park and Salisbury East homes rounded out the top five the state’s most affordable suburbs were all located in the state’s Iron Triangle Port Augusta and Whyalla Stuart topping the list Whyalla Norrie had an estimated median value of $212,000 Port Augusta $217,000 and Whyalla Stuart $222,000 Elders Whyalla sales consultant Jake Pope said “We have a strong investment market for rentals and are getting a lot of interstate investment from the east coast so homes are renting quickly too and we have low vacancy rates,” he said “Over the past four years or so we have seen slow “I’m not seeing any signs of the market slowing.” Mount Gambier has the cheapest regional units Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time Whyalla residents are trapped in a real estate nightmare The average time on the market for a house in the battling regional city has blown out to a whopping 248 days and many people are being forced to cut asking prices by 20 per cent The number of sales halved last year in a localised version of a property drama which big bank investors are praying doesn't play out in broader Australia The city's steelworks are under threat of closure and the iron ore mining operations nearby are battling. It faces further instability as administrators Grant Thornton are booted out after just six days in control and replaced by insolvency and restructuring firm KordaMentha​ at the behest of unions and Australia's big banks The Whyalla community desperately wants the steelworks to stay open in any restructuring of Arrium with the real estate market already being hit hard.Credit: Whyalla News The Whyalla real estate market was already slowing markedly over the past year as Arrium cut almost 1000 jobs as it attempted to stave off more serious problems with the company on April 7 being put in the hands of administrators and there's now more downward pressure expected in property as the knock-on impact on confidence washes through Elders Real Estate Whyalla residential specialist Graham Taylor said while there are about 600 houses on the market in a city of 22,000 people some sellers are just testing the market out of caution "There are a lot more houses on the market It's certainly higher than normal," he said The median price for houses in the six months ended December 31 and the number of sales achieved dropped in 2015 to 111 There are other metrics that show it's a "weak market" Average discount rates are at a "very high" 17.3 per cent and the average days on market is 248 days "Whyalla certainly reflects the potential volatility of regional centres that are exposed to single economic drivers," Dr Wilson said Whyalla isn't the only example of housing markets being crunched as the mining boom is punctured "Central Queensland regions of Mackay and Gladstone are classic examples of significant hangover after the party," he said The Age and The Australian Financial Review "Although growth in these areas was certainly driven by a local mining boom, it was exacerbated by high levels of speculative irrational residential investment activity," Dr Wilson said. House prices in Moranbah have fallen from $820,000 to $170,00 in some cases. Whyalla hasn't seen quite the same excess although there was much optimism in 2010 and 2011 as BHP Billiton planned a $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam mine The company eventually scrapped the mega-expansion plan in August Whyalla is about 300 kilometres by road from the Olympic Dam mine Mr Taylor from Elders said prices did spike at that point and there was more interest from investors outside of the city But the decision by BHP Billiton not to proceed with its expansion meant there hadn't been the huge price spikes as in Western Australia's resources boom "There has been downward pressure for the past 12 to 18 months," he said Some long-term residents are eyeing opportunities to pick up bargains now because of the cheap prices in anticipation that the steelworks would continue operating in the longer term Investors in the big four banks are increasingly nervous about the exposure of ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac to the Australian residential housing market if there were a sustained house price drop across the market, which has been forecast by some experts in a situation eerily similar to the movie based on the United States' sub-prime mortgage collapse in 2008 The number of sales halved last year in a localised version of a property drama which big bank investors are praying doesn't play out in broader Australia The city's steelworks are under threat of closure and the iron ore mining operations nearby are battling It faces further instability as and replaced by insolvency and restructuring firm KordaMentha\\u200B at the behest of unions and Australia's big banks and there's now more downward pressure expected in property as the knock-on impact on confidence washes through \\\"There are a lot more houses on the market It's certainly higher than normal,\\\" he said There are other metrics that show it's a \\\"weak market\\\" Average discount rates are at a \\\"very high\\\" 17.3 per cent and the average days on market is 248 days \\\"Whyalla certainly reflects the potential volatility of regional centres that are exposed to single economic drivers,\\\" Dr Wilson said Whyalla isn't the only example of housing markets being crunched as the mining boom is punctured \\\"Central Queensland regions of Mackay and Gladstone are classic examples of significant hangover after the party,\\\" he said \\\"Although growth in these areas was certainly driven by a local mining boom it was exacerbated by high levels of speculative irrational residential investment activity,\\\" Dr Wilson said But the decision by BHP Billiton not to proceed with its expansion meant there hadn't been the huge price spikes as in Western Australia's resources boom \\\"There has been downward pressure for the past 12 to 18 months,\\\" he said Investors in the big four banks are increasingly nervous about the exposure of ANZ NAB and Westpac to the Australian residential housing market if there were a sustained house price drop across the market in a situation eerily similar to the movie based on the United States' sub-prime mortgage collapse in 2008.