Jessica Brown
Updated 9 Dec 2025, 1:04pm
First published 9 Dec 2025, 12:00pm
Many prospective buyers are frantically rushing to snap up property before the year is out, with FOMO forcing some to fork out unprecedented prices.
Several suburb records have been smashed right across Adelaide in the past few weeks as househunters and developers scramble to secure limited properties.
Edge Realty principal Mike Lao said “the fear of missing out”, or FOMO, on properties while they were affordable so they could reap the rewards of further expected growth in 2026 was driving many purchases at the moment.
He recently sold an Elizabeth home for more than $156,000 above the suburb’s price record for a single residence.
21 Judd Rd, Elizabeth.
21 Judd Rd, Elizabeth.
Edge Realty principal Mike Lao.
The four-bedroom house on a 920sqm corner block fetched $915,000 at auction, smashing the suburb’s previous benchmark of $758,500 set by the property at 11 Enford St in August, according to property records.
“We had about 20 registered bidders and they were mostly developers,” said Mr Lao, who sold the property with Tyson Bennett.
“But the people who bought it are going to just rent it out.
“The fear of missing out is making people buy there.”
According to latest PropTrack data, Elizabeth’s median house price has climbed 15.1 per cent in the past year, 77.8 per cent in the past three years and 162.9 per cent in the past five years to $610,000.
The sale comes after Mr Lao sold another property at Brahma Lodge for $958,000 under the hammer, which also raised the bar for the area.
“It was crazy, we had about 51 registered bidders,” Mr Lao said after the sale settled in December.
Meanwhile, a $2.235m Thebarton property raised the bar for its city fringe suburb by almost $600,000 at auction this month, and a $4m sale eclipsed the previous record for Onkaparinga Heights by more than $1m last month.
A luxury beachfront mansion at 107B Esplanade has also set a new benchmark for Hove, according to property records.
107B Esplanade, Hove.
107B Esplanade, Hove.
Noakes Nickolas director and auctioneer Simon Noakes.
Government data shows the second highest sale in the small seaside suburb is that of the home at 111 Esplanade, which fetched $3.965m.
Selling agent Simon Noakes, of Noakes Nickolas, said the mansion at No. 107B was well received with multiple offers on the three-storey house.
“It sold in about a week,” said Mr Noakes, who sold the property with Jorden Tresidder.
He said there was a definite rush to snap up property at the moment, with prospective buyers willing to pay top dollar to secure them.
“There’s strong demand for the right properties at the moment,” he said.
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