South Australia’s housing pipeline has reached record levels across approvals, construction and completions, with new figures showing thousands more homes moving through the system.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Building Approvals data shows 15,308 dwellings were approved across South Australia in the 12 months to July 2026.
That’s a 4.6 per cent increase on the previous year, with 668 more homes approved than the 14,640 recorded in the 12 months to July 2025.
It also marks the fourth consecutive month that South Australia has recorded its strongest annual approvals result in four decades.
The last time approvals were running at this level was in 1985 under the Bannon Labor Government.
Annual approvals are now 19 per cent higher than when the Malinauskas Government came to office in 2022, while approvals are sitting 23 per cent above the five-year monthly average.
South Australia’s growth comes as national approvals fell by 3.6 per cent, with declines recorded across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
According to the state government, South Australia is the only mainland state currently recording growth in approvals over both the month and the year.
But it’s not just approvals that are reaching record levels.
The state is also recording its strongest results for homes commencing construction, homes under construction and completed dwellings.
ABS Building Activity data shows 14,130 homes were completed in South Australia in the year to March 2026, the highest number recorded in any year.
South Australia was also the only state to record growth in housing completions over that period.
The sustained growth follows the release of the Premier’s Housing Roadmap in 2024, which introduced a series of measures aimed at speeding up planning approvals, increasing infrastructure investment and getting more homes built in the right locations.
The Malinauskas Government has set a target of 13,500 home completions every year, with the latest figures suggesting the state’s housing pipeline is continuing to build momentum.
“A record number of homes approved would be a good result on its own,” said Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion. “What makes this different is that every other stage of the pipeline is at a record too.
“Record approvals. Record homes started. Record homes under construction. Record homes finished.”
“This shows we are not approving homes that never get built, and we are not finishing homes with nothing behind them in the queue.
“For builders, developers and their workforces, that is a pipeline they can rely on, invest in and plan around.”
The Government says the continued flow of housing construction will provide greater certainty for the building industry while helping deliver more options for South Australians, including young families and downsizers.
