Can’t find a builder? New record-breaking SA housing figures reveal why
The Premier showed off the latest home building figures this morning – flanked by Labor’s candidate hoping to fill former treasurer Stephen Mullighan’s seat. While the Greens announced it wants to target massive bank profits to fund its plans.
Premier Peter Malinauskas was hailing new housing figures as record-breaking on the campaign trail today, with almost 15,000 SA dwellings under construction at the end of September 2025.
Figures the Opposition immediately claimed were “meaningless” against the backdrop of a housing crisis.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released this week showed this was 1000 more houses built than the previous year.
The ABS’s Building Activity data showed much of the heavy lifting happened from June to September 2025, the quarter saw 800 more houses under construction.
Malinauskas was flanked by Housing Minister Nick Champion and Labor candidate for Lee, David Wilkins, at a Seaton housing development project to share the results on Thursday morning. Two Dachshund dogs called Ollie and Remy, along with two first homebuyers were also on hand.
If successful in March, Wilkins, a lawyer and Port Adelaide Enfield councillor, would succeed retiring politician and former treasurer Stephen Mulligan in the electorate which covers northwest suburbs including Albert Park, Seaton and part of Grange.
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The ABS data showed a 7.2 per cent increase year on year in South Australia, above the national average growth rate of 4.2 per cent year on year.
Completed homes also increased, with about 12,750 homes finished in the September quarter, while about 3700 others began construction, the ABS found.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said this showed “unprecedented” housing momentum and threw out a challenge to other parties hoping to win support in the state election slated for March.
It comes after an October promise that a re-elected Malinauskas government would start a $500 million pre-sale guarantee fund for developers to unlock apartment developments in the CBD and the Premier said there were more policy announcements to come.
“Now, other parties will have policies around housing too, but there’s only one question you’ve got to ask yourself what policies are making a difference when it comes to housing supply,” Malinauskas said.
“Because if you’re not increasing housing supply, right, you’re making the problem worse.”
Liberal housing spokesperson Michelle Lensink slammed the campaign effort, calling the ABS milestone “meaningless”.
“It’s staggering that Labor wants a pat on the back for falling 4000 homes short of what its federal colleagues say is needed to address the housing crisis,” Lensink said.
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“Instead of celebrating meaningless milestones, Peter Malinauskas should release clear targets and workforce policies that would achieve them.
“A Hurn Liberal Government would boost housing supply by fixing crippling shortages of materials and skilled workers, while also helping first home buyers enter the market by removing stamp duty on homes under $1 million.”
Meanwhile, SA Greens Leader Rob Simms unveiled his party’s plan to impose a state-based “big bank levy” and to raise refined mineral royalty rates to build more housing.
“We absolutely need to boost the supply of housing, that’s why the Greens have a plan to build 20,000 public homes in four years,” Simms said.
“Simply waiting for the private market isn’t delivering the housing we need.”
The Greens’ big bank levy is similar to a Labor policy proposed in 2017 and would impose a rate of 0.1 per cent of total liabilities per quarter on the five biggest banks in SA.
Simms said it would raise about $2.5 billion over four years and join a suite of levies raising a total $14 billion, enough to cover their housing plans that include establishing a $6.7 billion public builder.
The minor party wants to see the refined mineral royalty rate increased, which is currently three per cent and the mineral ore concentrate royalty rate of five per cent to 20 per cent.
It would also boost the petroleum royalty rate from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, which the party said would raise an extra $7.44 billion over four years. Other revenue and potential savings the Greens flagged included a levy on long-term vacant property and dumping the government’s $45 million North Adelaide golf course expansion.
“Just last financial year, the big banks made over $48 billion in profit and mining corporations are projected to make over $11 billion this financial year off the resources owned by the people of our state,” Simms said.
“Budgets are about choices, and the Greens are putting a range of revenue measures on the table that should be considered by the future government,” Simms said.
