South Australia has seized the crown in Australia’s housing pipeline, powering past pre‑pandemic levels as approvals surged 20.1 per cent in 2025 to 15,408 – the state’s strongest showing since 1984 and now 2 per cent above its 2021 peak.
According to research by bheja.ai, a record burst of apartment activity underpinned the run, with private‑sector unit approvals jumping 96 per cent to 4,646 – an all‑time high in data back to 1983 – signalling genuine new supply rather than churn.
Nationally, building approvals rebounded 12.1 per cent to 194,971 dwellings after three rate cuts coaxed buyers and developers back from the 2022–23 slump triggered by surging construction costs and aggressive tightening.
That uplift added 21,050 approvals, yet the country remains 15 per cent shy of its 2021 peak, a reminder that momentum is still fragile and uneven across the states.
New South Wales and South Australia did the heavy lifting.
NSW contributed 39 per cent of the national growth despite holding 27 per cent market share, a sign its apartment pipeline is finally stirring after years of under‑delivery.
Source: bheja.ai
But it’s SA that’s rewriting the playbook: the only major state to beat pre‑pandemic building levels, driven by policy settings that unclogged financing for multifamily projects and pushed a wave of medium‑density approvals across Adelaide’s infill and growth corridors.
“The 2025 recovery demonstrates how sensitive building approvals are to interest rate settings, but February’s rate hike to 3.85 per cent introduces fresh uncertainty,” bheja.ai CEO and founder Pravin Mahajan said.
“South Australia shows what’s possible when state government policy removes financing barriers for apartment construction, addressing the pre-sale requirements that had locked up thousands of approved developments. The question now is whether momentum can survive the RBA’s policy reversal.”
Construction on $85m build-to-rent housing development Wirra Mikangka, which will offer 151 apartments just outside Adelaide’s CBD, has started.
Victoria, Australia’s largest home‑building market, booked 54,335 approvals but managed only 1.1 per cent growth, leaving volumes 24 per cent below the 2022 peak – a sobering outcome for a state grappling with tight rental markets and population inflows.
NSW landed 52,427 approvals, up 18.8 per cent, though it’s still 17 per cent beneath 2022 highs.
Queensland rose 11.9 per cent to 41,653, now just 3 per cent shy of its 2021 peak, while Western Australia lifted 13.3 per cent to 33,088, sitting 7 per cent off 2021 levels.
Mr Mahajan said population pressures remain acute.
Nationally, there is one new building approved for every 2.15 new residents, with NSW performing better at 1.94 and South Australia leading major states at one home per 1.34 new residents.
“South Australia’s performance represents genuine supply expansion,” he said.
“Just 1 per cent of the state’s approvals stem from demolitions versus the national average of 11 per cent, indicating SA is achieving growth through new land release rather than replacing existing housing stock.”
Labor announce plans for thousands of Adelaide homes
Almost 17,000 new homes would be created to ease South Australia’s housing supply crisis in a nation-first, $800m plan to be unveiled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in January.
The $801.5m funding package, which he will detailed alongside Premier Peter Malinauskas, includes measures for 6877 homes specifically for first-home buyers, many in northern Adelaide.
New home builder Rebecca Humphreys speaks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas, after announcing 7000 new homes in South Australia. Picture: Kelly Barnes
An extra 10,000 homes for other buyers are expected to be unlocked through the deal, primarily through a $300m concessional loan to deliver more water infrastructure in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
An accelerated construction schedule is designed to allow the first of the homes to start being built in the 2026/27 financial year, with first-home buyers moving in from 2027/28.
Mr Malinauskas said the deal would “significantly accelerate the work we are doing to address the national housing crisis in South Australia.
“For first-home buyers, this announcement means the dream of owning your own home will become significantly easier in South Australia,” he said.
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