Magill, SA 5072Home loan and property guide

Magill location and character

Magill lies approximately seven kilometres east of the Adelaide CBD, at the foot of the eastern hills. Unusually, it straddles two council jurisdictions: the City of Burnside and the City of Campbelltown. It incorporates the area previously known as Koongarra Park, and adjoins Woodforde, Kensington Gardens, Rosslyn Park and Auldana.

Before the colonisation of South Australia in 1836 the land now called Magill was occupied by the Kaurna people, the Traditional Owners of the Adelaide Plains, who have cared for the land for thousands of years. Before Magill was established in 1838 the area was woodland with widely spaced gums over native grasses and some small shrubs, and it is believed there were around seven hundred Kaurna people in the area in 1836.

The suburb was first established as the 524-acre Makgill Estate, owned by two Scotsmen, Robert Cock and William Ferguson, who met en route to the newly founded colony while sailing from Portsmouth on HMS Buffalo. They arrived on 28 December 1836 and formed a partnership as carrier and merchant.

Transport and amenity in Magill

There is no railway station in Magill. Adelaide Metro buses serve the suburb along Magill Road and the surrounding streets, connecting it to the Adelaide city centre. At around seven kilometres from the city, road journeys are comparatively short and cycling is practical for many residents.

By road, Magill Road runs east to west through the suburb towards the city, while Glen Stuart Road and Moules Road carry local traffic and the roads to the east climb into the foothills. Because the land rises on the eastern side, travel times vary more than the map distance suggests in that direction.

The Magill campus is the principal institution in the suburb. Located on 15 hectares of parklands in Adelaide's eastern suburbs, it specialises in education, creative industries, communications and social sciences, and provides on-site parking and nearby bus routes. Magill Road supplies local shopping, and this guide does not describe school zones, which the Department for Education can confirm.

Housing stock in Magill

Magill has a more varied housing mix than most of Adelaide's inner east. Detached houses spanning the mid twentieth century to more recent replacements remain the largest group, but the suburb also carries a substantial body of townhouses and a notable apartment component, much of it built near the campus and along Magill Road.

At the 2021 Census, 2,670 of the 3,850 occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 764 were semi-detached or townhouse dwellings and 413 were flats or apartments, so houses made up 69.4 per cent of occupied homes against 72.3 per cent nationally, attached dwellings 19.8 per cent against 12.6 per cent, and flats 10.7 per cent. Three-bedroom homes numbered 1,801 and two-bedroom homes 966.

Inspections vary with stock. Older detached houses raise footings on reactive clay soils, roof condition, original services and asbestos-containing materials, while townhouses and apartments raise corporation levies, sinking fund adequacy and the condition of common property.

Who lives and buys in Magill

The 2021 Census counted 9,693 residents in Magill, with a median age of 40 against 38 for Australia and an average household size of 2.4 people compared with 2.5 nationally. Adults aged 35 to 44 were the largest group at 1,427, followed by 1,291 aged 45 to 54 and 1,238 aged 25 to 34.

Tenure divides almost evenly three ways, which is unusual. The Census recorded 1,255 dwellings owned outright, 1,210 owned with a mortgage and 1,149 rented, so 33.0 per cent of households with a stated tenure owned outright, 31.8 per cent had a mortgage and 30.2 per cent rented, against 31.0, 35.0 and 30.6 per cent nationally. Median weekly household income was $1,616 against $1,746, and median monthly mortgage repayments were $1,950 against $1,863.

The Census also recorded 297 unoccupied private dwellings out of 4,151 on Census night, a share consistent with student and rental turnover near a campus. For a buyer, this is a balanced inner-eastern market where owner-occupiers, investors and renters are all substantially represented, and the breadth of dwelling types gives wide choice.

Planning, two councils and local factors in Magill

The split between two councils is the distinctive local matter. Because Magill straddles the City of Burnside and the City of Campbelltown, buyers should confirm which council applies to a specific address, since rates, waste services, local policies and the contact for development applications all follow that boundary.

Zoning and overlays come from the state-wide Planning and Design Code, which replaced council development plans in March 2021, and can be viewed for any address through the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas. The Code is state-wide, so zoning provisions are consistent, but the assessing authority differs by council, and heritage or historic area policy may apply in parts of the suburb.

Proximity to a campus shapes amenity as well as the rental market. Streets nearest the campus carry more parking pressure and student tenancies than those further away, and buyers may wish to visit at different times of day and during term rather than judging from a single inspection.

Buying in Magill under South Australian contract law

A South Australian vendor must serve a Form 1 vendor's statement. The Law Handbook published by the Legal Services Commission describes it as disclosing mortgages and encumbrances, planning zone and overlay information and recent transfers, and as explaining cooling-off rights. For a property here, the overlay section also helps confirm which council area and which policies apply.

The purchaser generally has two clear business days from service of the Form 1 to cool off by written notice, and no cooling-off applies at auction. Where the property is strata or community titled, corporation records deserve review within that period. A conveyancer normally manages settlement, and first home buyer duty relief in South Australia applies to new homes only.

Home loan considerations for Magill property

Detached houses and townhouses on standard titles are accepted security. Apartments need more scrutiny: some lenders set minimum internal floor areas, treat student-oriented apartments more conservatively, or limit exposure to a single building, and corporation levies are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power.

Because almost a third of households rent, investment lending is common and is assessed on different terms from owner-occupied lending, with most lenders discounting rental income. Investors may wish to consider vacancy between academic years where a dwelling depends heavily on student demand, and whether the rental pool for a particular property type is broader than the campus alone.

Lending considerations for Magill

• The suburb lies in two council areas, so confirm which council applies to a specific address for rates and development.
• Small or student-oriented apartments can fall below the minimum internal floor area some lenders require.
• Strata and community corporation levies are counted in serviceability assessments and reduce borrowing power.
• Around a third of households rent, so investment lending is common and assessed on different terms.
• Rental demand near the campus can vary between academic years, which investors may wish to consider.

Lender policy differs between institutions and changes over time. The guide to Australian lenders explains how credit policy varies, and the home loan guide sets out the main loan structures.