If there's one place in Australia where most home hunters are more likely to buy houses than units, it would be Adelaide, according to a study by Domain.

The study found that demand for houses increased over the four weeks to 6 September by 31.2%. On a weekly basis, demand for houses rose by 5.5%, the steepest weekly gain recorded among all capitals.

"While this will reflect the property landscape, it also reveals the owner-occupier nature of the South Australian housing market and preference for houses," said Nicola Powell, senior research analyst at Domain.

Despite the dampening activity due to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, Powell said demand actually remains elevated compared to last year. In fact, search activity for houses is 38.1% higher than last year.

"Adelaide was one of only two capitals to have the city centre as its most in-demand area. The other highly in-demand areas are within close proximity to the city centre, including Norwood-Payneham St Peters, Prospect-Walkerville and Unley," she said.

Buyer demand is also strong in Canberra, particularly for houses. In fact, during the first week of the month, demand for houses increased by 4.9%.

"While pandemic-related lockdowns significantly affected activity from people likely to buy across the Australian capitals, Canberra has been particularly resilient in comparison to other cities. Buyer demand continues to rise as the spring selling season commences," she said.