Free market report · Data to July 2026

Coober Pedy property market

Coober Pedy is one of the 453 council areas we track on the Momentum Dial, our property clock. This page is the plain-numbers read: where it sits in the cycle, who lives there, what's being built, and the suburbs inside it.

Coober Pedy is home to 1,526 people. On the Buyers First Momentum Dial its house market currently reads Slowing. The number to sit with before anything else: population has been shrinking at -2.0% a year. Everything below should be read against that. Here's the rest of the picture, in plain numbers.

Houses · cycle position

Slowing

The Coober Pedy house market is still growing, but the pace has come off its fastest point. Slowing markets often keep rising for years, just less quickly.

-4% to +16%

Modelled 12-month price range

-0.3%

Modelled 12-month rent change

Units · cycle position

Not enough unit sales in Coober Pedy for a reliable cycle reading. That's common outside the cities, and honest beats guessed.

At a glance · houses

$156,834

Typical house, August 2026

+2.3% a year since 2010

+3.4%

Growth a year, last 10 years

+9.5% a year over the last 5

$252

Rent a week

8.4% gross yield

8 of 15

Years prices fell since 2010

Worst: 2018, -13%

The clock measures growth momentum, not price. Peak means growing fastest, not about to fall. Cycle data and projections sourced from HtAG Analytics. See Coober Pedy on the clock.

Free · One per person

Want all of this written up for Coober Pedy?

The full report is this data as a written document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Coober Pedy, and the numbers that cut against the area. I write them by hand, so it comes from me rather than out of a system.

Leave your details and I'll get in touch about it myself, by email or phone, usually within one business day. It comes from dan@buyersfirstagency.com.au, and it lands in junk more often than it should, so check there if you don't see it. You'll also go on the Market Pulse mailing list, one email a month on where the market is actually heading. Unsubscribe whenever you like, and I never pass your details to anyone else.

The numbers, explained

Coober Pedy in charts.

The typical house in Coober Pedy went from $108,334 in 2010 to $156,834 in August 2026. That is +45% in total, +2.3% a year. It went backwards 4 years in a row at one point. Any market can have a bad year. The ones that stack them are the ones that hurt, and this is the number we weigh most.

Houses · price change each year · 2011 to 2026

Prices in Coober Pedy fell in 8 of the last 15 years

Watch this
'11 -4.3% '12 -1.1% '13 '14 -0.2% 2015 -3.3% '16 -4.2% '17 -12.8% '18 '19 -1.2% 2020 '21 -4.0% '22 17.7% '23 '24 2025 9.7% '26 ytd

+45%

Since 2010

+3.4%

Per year, last 10 years

8 of 15

Years going backwards

-12.8%

Worst year (2018)

What this shows. How much the typical house price in Coober Pedy went up or down each year. Teal bars are up years, red bars are down years, and the faded bar is this year so far.

Why it matters. The size of a good year matters less than how many bad years there were and whether they came in a row. Boring? Absolutely. But the length of the down stretch is what decides whether you get out the other side. Typical price at December each year, data from HtAG Analytics.

You don't need to know property to read this. Every chart below opens with the point in one line, then says what it shows and why we care. Teal is a good sign, amber is okay, red means watch it.

The scorecard · 7 things we check

Coober Pedy scores 21 out of 35. Mixed.

Okay
Cycle 3Down years 1Supply 5People 1Jobs 1Affordability 5Rentals 5 5 = best
Where it is in the cycle

prices are still rising but more slowly

Years prices fell since 2010

8 of 15 years

New homes being built

0.0 new homes approved per 100 that exist

People moving in

population shrinking 2.0% a year

Jobs

22.7% unemployed, Australia 4.2%

Can locals afford it

a house costs 3.3 years of a local household's income

Empty rentals

0.4% of rentals are empty, so about 1 in every 100

What this shows. Seven quick checks on Coober Pedy, each scored out of five. Five is the reading we most want to see.

Why it matters. No single number tells you whether an area is a good buy. Together they show whether the pieces line up. These are bands, not rules: a council outside a band can still be the right buy for the right person, and one inside every band can still be wrong for you.

House prices since 2010 · Coober Pedy vs the 5 most similar councils in SA

Coober Pedy has grown more slowly than similar councils over ten years

Watch this
$68k $136k $205k $273k Coober Pedy $143k 20102012201420162018202020222024
Coober PedySimilar councils (middle of 5)

+9.5% vs +5.5%

A year, last 5 years

+3.4% vs +4.7%

A year, last 10 years

+2.0% vs +4.1%

A year, last 15 years

What this shows. The typical house price in Coober Pedy every year, in teal, next to the middle of the five councils in SA closest to it in size and starting price: Flinders Ranges, Peterborough, Cleve, Southern Mallee, Karoonda East Murray. The small "vs" number in each tile is those councils.

Why it matters. Sometimes a slower market is catching up, sometimes it is being passed. The jobs and supply readings on this page tell you which.

Momentum · the last 36 months

Prices in Coober Pedy are picking up speed right now

Good sign
$98k $129k $161k 0 14 sold September '23March '24September '24March '25September '25March '26
Last 3 months' priceLast 12 months' priceHouses sold each month

$155,903

3-month price, August 2026

+6.2%

3-month price vs 12-month price

89 vs 92

Houses sold, last 12 months vs the 12 before

What this shows. Two versions of the same price. The dotted teal line averages the last three months, so it reacts fast. The grey line averages the last twelve, so it moves slowly. The bars are how many houses sold each month.

Why it matters. The last three months are running ahead of the last twelve. That is what speeding up looks like before it shows in the yearly number.

New homes · approvals as a share of all the homes here

Not many new homes are being built in Coober Pedy

Good sign
balanced · 1.5% to 3% a year above this, a lot of building 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 0.0% FY24 · 0 approved 0.0% FY25 · 0 approved 0.0% FY26 · 0 approved · now

What this shows. For every 100 homes already in Coober Pedy, how many new ones the council approved each year. The teal band is the range we call balanced.

Why it matters. Fewer new homes means the ones that exist stay in demand. It can also mean building here is hard or slow, which cuts the same way. The home count is the population divided by the average household size, so treat the rate as a guide rather than a census.

Affordability · house price in years of local household income

A house in Coober Pedy costs 3.3 years of a local family's income

Good sign
expensive · over 8 years stretched · 6 to 8 years affordable · under 6 years 3.3 2016 3.0 2017 2.6 2018 2.6 2019 2.4 2020 2.5 2021 2.3 2022 2.6 2023 2.8 2024 3.1 2025 3.3 2026 so far

What this shows. Take the typical house price and divide it by what a typical household here earns in a year. A bar of 7 means seven years of the whole household's income buys one house.

Why it matters. Affordable by Australian standards. There is room for prices to move before the locals get priced out, and locals are the steadiest buyers a market has. Income is the 2021 Census figure carried forward at 3.5% a year, so it is an estimate, not a measurement.

Rents · typical weekly house rent, last 36 months · and how many rentals sit empty

Rent in Coober Pedy is $252 a week, up 0.8% in a year

Okay
$197 $233 $268 $252 a week now September '23March '24September '24March '25September '25March '26

$252

A week, August 2026

+0.8%

Change in the last year

0.4%

Rentals sitting empty (tight)

What this shows. What a typical house in Coober Pedy rents for each week, month by month. The empty-rentals number is the share of rental homes with nobody in them: under 1.5% is tight, over 3% means tenants have plenty of choice.

Why it matters. Rents are moving with inflation. Steady rather than tight.

Rental yield · a year of rent as a share of the price, Coober Pedy vs similar councils

Rent covers 8.4% of the price each year in Coober Pedy

4.5% 9.6% 14.6% 202120232025
Coober PedySimilar councils

What this shows. Yield is simple: a whole year of rent divided by the house price. A $500,000 house renting for $500 a week earns $26,000 a year, which is a 5.2% yield.

Why it matters. Higher than similar councils, which are around 5.7%. The rent does more of the heavy lifting here, so holding costs less out of pocket. We don't buy on yield alone and we never set a yield cut-off; it is one piece of the picture, next to growth.

The people

Who lives in Coober Pedy.

The population has been shrinking, -2.0% a year over the last five years, and that is the single biggest caution flag in this report. Interesting mix underneath: locals have been leaving on net (-66 over three years) while overseas migration more than filled the gap (25). Worth understanding who is arriving and what housing they need. The median age is 50 and the median household brings in $764 a week (Census 2021). 55% of households own or are paying off their home. Owner-occupier markets like this tend to hold their nerve through the cycle, because nobody is forced to sell an address they live at.

Population · ABS estimates 2015 to 2025

Coober Pedy is losing people: 1,526 residents, -2.0% a year

Watch this
1,822 1,526 201520202025

1,526

People, 2025

-2.0% vs +0.9%

A year, last 5 years · typical SA council

-1.8%

A year, last 10 years

Why it matters. A shrinking population is the single biggest caution flag in this report. Fewer people means fewer buyers and fewer tenants.

Where the growth came from · last 3 years

Coober Pedy lost 55 people on net over the last three years

Watch this
Births minus deaths
-14
Moved from elsewhere in Australia
-66
Moved from overseas
+25

Net change: -55 people over three years.

What this shows. Three ways a place gains or loses people: babies born minus people who died, people who moved here from another part of Australia, and people who arrived from overseas. Bars to the right add people, bars to the left take them away.

Why it matters. When more people leave than arrive, demand relies on locals moving house. That works while jobs hold, and it is the number to watch.

Age and households · Census 2021

Coober Pedy is older than the typical SA council: median age 50 vs 45

Older
Median age 50 vs 45
People per household 1.8 vs 2.3

Coober Pedy Typical SA council (middle of 63)

Why it matters. An older area leans on retirees and downsizers. Single-level homes near health services do best, and turnover tends to be lower.

Income and who owns the homes · Census 2021

Most homes in Coober Pedy are owner-occupied: 55% own or are paying off, 33% rent

Owner market
Household income a week $764 -38% vs typical
Who lives in the homes 55% own · 33% rent

Own or paying off Renting Other

Why it matters. Owner-occupier markets hold their nerve through the cycle, because nobody is forced to sell the address they live at.

New supply

What's being approved to build.

0 dwellings were approved in FY26. Approvals have been roughly steady year to year.

Homes approved · ABS, by financial year

Not much new is being built in Coober Pedy: 0 homes approved in FY26

Good sign
FY24
0
FY25
0
FY26
0

Houses Units, townhouses and other

0

Homes approved, FY26

n/a

Of them houses

0.0%

New homes per 100 that exist

What this shows. How many new homes the council approved each financial year, split into houses and everything else. Approved is not built, but it is the earliest warning of supply on the way.

Why it matters. When little gets built, the homes already here do not have much competition. Good for prices, as long as people keep arriving.

Non-residential building approved · ABS

$375k of non-residential building was approved in Coober Pedy in FY26

Okay
FY24
$600k
FY25
$1m
FY26
$375k

Government projects All non-residential

$375k

All sectors, FY26

$0k

Government, FY26

$1m

Schools and health, last 3 years

What this shows. The dollar value of shops, offices, schools, hospitals and other non-home buildings approved each year. The darker bar is the government's share.

Why it matters. Governments build where they expect people. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal they give about where families are heading. For the named projects behind these numbers, ask for the full report.

Jobs

Who's working in Coober Pedy.

Work here runs on hospitality (18% of jobs), ahead of health care and social assistance and retail trade. 102 fewer residents are in work than five years ago (-15.3%). Understand why before anything else on this page. Unemployment is 22.7% against a national 4.2%, which is a real gap, not noise. On the ABS advantage index it ranks in the bottom 10% nationally. That usually means better yields, and it means doing your homework street by street.

Jobs · SALM, March 2026

102 fewer people in Coober Pedy have a job than five years ago

Watch this

563

Residents in work

22.7% vs 4.2%

Unemployed · Australia

-15.3%

Jobs change, 5 years

Unemployment rate 22.7% vs 3.7% typical SA council

Coober Pedy Australia

Why it matters. A shrinking job base is the thing to understand before anything else on this page. People follow work, and housing follows people.

Who employs people here · Census 2021

Hospitality is the biggest employer in Coober Pedy, 18% of jobs

Advantage 1 of 10
Hospitality
18%
Health care and social assistance
18%
Retail trade
13%
Education and training
10%
Public administration
10%

What this shows. The five industries that employ the most residents, as a share of all jobs. The pill is the ABS advantage score: Coober Pedy sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally, where 10 is the most advantaged.

Why it matters. A spread of employers means no single closure can empty the town. That is the kind of job base that holds house prices through a downturn.

The outlook

Is Coober Pedy worth buying into?

The honest read: nothing in the free data makes a loud case for Coober Pedy right now. Against that, weigh a shrinking population and fewer residents in work than five years ago. None of this guarantees anything. It tells you where to look harder, which is what a report like this is for.

Free · Written by hand · One per person

This page is the public data. The full report is that written up as a document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Coober Pedy. One per person.

Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.

Leave your details and I'll get in touch about it myself, by email or phone, usually within one business day. It comes from dan@buyersfirstagency.com.au, and it lands in junk more often than it should, so check there if you don't see it. You'll also go on the Market Pulse mailing list, one email a month on where the market is actually heading. Unsubscribe whenever you like, and I never pass your details to anyone else.

Inside the LGA

The suburbs of Coober Pedy.

We hold live snapshot data for one suburb in Coober Pedy. Click through for the full numbers.

Suburb Typical price Rent/wk Gross yield 1yr growth Listings
Coober Pedy $156,106 $170 5.7% +13% REA · Domain

Next step. See what's for sale in Coober Pedy on realestate.com.au or Domain. Then send me the address before you make an offer. That is the part the data cannot do.

All 1 suburbs and localities in Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy

Free · Written by hand · One per person

Want the full workup on Coober Pedy?

This page is the public data. The full report is the written workup: current price, rent, gross yield and vacancy, growth over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years, days on market and demand, and the supply coming down the pipe, for Coober Pedy or any suburb in it. Same data we run for clients. I pull it and email it through, usually within a business day. One per person, no charge, and no 14-part email sequence afterwards. All I ask is that if it lands, you take the fifteen minute call at the end of it.

Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.

Leave your details and I'll get in touch about it myself, by email or phone, usually within one business day. It comes from dan@buyersfirstagency.com.au, and it lands in junk more often than it should, so check there if you don't see it. You'll also go on the Market Pulse mailing list, one email a month on where the market is actually heading. Unsubscribe whenever you like, and I never pass your details to anyone else.

Keep comparing

Markets of a similar size in SA.

A council only makes sense in context. These are the SA markets closest to Coober Pedy in population, each with its own written report.

General information only, not financial or investment advice. Cycle positions and projections are modelled LGA-level figures to July 2026, sourced from HtAG Analytics. Population and approvals are ABS estimates; employment is SALM smoothed data; income, age and tenure are Census 2021. None of it can see street quality, flood maps, zoning or the contract, which is where deals are actually won and lost. Get advice on your own situation before acting.

Data finds the area. It doesn't buy the house.

We narrow 15,000 suburbs to the top 5 for each client, then find the street and the property. If Coober Pedy is on your list, that's a conversation worth having early.

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