SA’s disappearing lots – and where you can still find them

Those looking to buy their own home already know how hard that quest is, with little stock on the market and growing pressure from a ravenous group of buyers fighting it out to secure their slice of the Great Australian Dream.

But those looking to enter the market via a different avenue – the block of land on which to build – are facing the grim reality that this isn’t much easier, with blocks shrinking, prices skyrocketing and the selection of suburbs housing them getting leaner every day.

New data from Oliver Hume – one of Australia’s most reputable residential property funds and real estate services groups – shows buyers looking to buy a conventional lot of vacant land between 350 and 600sqm for under $400,000 have very little choice.

Home - Generic vacant land shots at Seaford Meadows housing estate.

Land – specifically affordable land, is becoming harder to find.

According to its data, the closest option to the city is at Virginia, 28km from the CBD, where you’ll find just one available allotment.

Head 200m further out – 28.2km from the CBD – and you’ll find nine empty lots that fit that criteria.

Hills buyers have a few more options, with seven available lots in Mount Barker, while Tanunda, in the Barossa Valley, has the next largest group of eligible properties at six.

Tanunda was also the best option for those looking to find a conventional block – less than 600sqm – for less than $800/sqm.

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Here you’ll find seven eligible blocks, ahead of two in Mount Barker, and one each in Angle Vale, Encounter Bay and Kapunda.

Oliver Hume Property Group chief economist Matt Bell said just over 150 conventional lots were available across Greater Adelaide at the end of July, with this scarcity fuelling prices.

“This strong price growth meant land prices ticked over $800 per square metre in the June 2025 quarter as headline price growth continued and smaller product sold,” he said.

Matt Bell from Oliver Hume

“There are still some blocks of land under $800/sqm in some areas of Adelaide, but stock is limited.”

A separate data set shows the median lot size in Adelaide is the lowest it has been since at least December 2020.

It sits at 375sqm – costing a median $335,000 – down from a high of 524sqm in March 2021.

In a statistic that will likely break the hearts of many present-day buyers – the median price then was $184,500.

REISA CEO Andrea Heading. Supplied

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Andrea Heading said the good news was there was a pipeline of properties set to be released as part of the State Government’s Housing Roadmap to 25,000 homes for South Australians.

But many of these were some way off.

“There’s huge demand for these now, but many are being held up because of a lack of infrastructure like power and wastewater management,” she said.

“Blocks are getting smaller as developers look to maximise their opportunities, but they’re still going for a premium price.

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“Unfortunately buyers just come to terms with the fact that we’re never going to see those ‘cheap’ prices we saw in the past.

“It’s not going to go backwards.”