Adelaide land prices on the up and expected to keep rising

Strong demand and constrained supply despite new releases have pushed Adelaide land prices up almost 5 per cent – or $15,030 – in the past three months.

New research by Oliver Hume Property Group shows the median lot price rose 4.7 per cent in the June quarter and 17.5 per cent over the past year (or $46,850) to a median of $335,000.

The median price per square metre of land is now $893, up from $667 in the first three months of the year, while the median lot size dropped from 480sqm to below 400sqm.

Sales volumes were also up following new land releases, from 271 in the March quarter to 454 in the three months to June, but they are down on the same period the previous year (635).

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Adelaide’s median lot price is now $335,000 following growth in the June quarter, according to Oliver Hume Property Group.

Oliver Hume Property Group chief executive Julian Coppini said the increase was driven by not just strong demand for land but a lack of stock hitting the market.

Water and sewerage challenges and not having enough infrastructure to service new homes, as well as mounting pressure on civil works providers, were causing major delays, he said.

“On average now in Adelaide, time frames to get (land) titled is around 18 months on average,” Mr Coppini said.

“You don’t want that to get worse, so developers are pulling back on stock releases.

“Demand is also there and that’s why prices are going up.”

The Barossa recorded the largest land price increase, with its median up 36.2 per cent to $395,000, followed by Alexandrina, which was up 18 per cent to $285,000.

Mr Coppini said until significantly more land came to market, prices would continue to rise.

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The former oil refinery site at Port Stanvac is set to be turned into a new housing and mixed-use development with up to 3600 new homes.

“The Adelaide market continues to benefit from its relative affordability compared to other markets, and if new supply can be brought to market, it’s likely sales volumes will continue to increase through the second half of 2025,” he said.

“Even with another quarter of strong price growth, Adelaide land prices remain more affordable than both Melbourne and South East Queensland, both in headline median price and dollars per square metre terms.

“It’s a real telltale sign of a hot market.”

Complete by Weeks Homes general manager Daniel Pargaliti said the state government was working hard to improve the infrastructure issues but it would take time so land would be in short supply for a while yet.

“With the population increase we experienced in Covid … that’s obviously put fairly heavy constraint on availability of stock and also the rental market,” he said.

“We’ve got a lack of land to supply for owner occupiers but the rental market is in critical shortage too.”

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Artist impression for the proposed housing development at the Brompton Gasworks site, which would include more than 800 homes.

Mr Pargaliti said until there was a significant increase in the amount of land coming to the market, prices would continue to rise.

However, he said some developers would pivot to offer more affordable homes to meet the demand.

These would be in areas with established infrastructure, including Mount Barker and new housing developments at the former Port Stanvac oil refinery site and the Brompton Gasworks.

“There’ll be smaller lots so there will be affordable ones for buyers out there,” Mr Pargaliti said.

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