Interstate Developers Find Lots to Love in ‘Progressive, Affordable’ SA

It has built more than 600 homes in the five years since it expanded into South Australia. And there is plenty more where that came from, Homecorp founder Ron Bakir tells The Urban Developer . The Gold Coast-headquartered developer has a pipeline of close to 1000 homes in South Australia and says there is one key reason it is all-in on the southern state. Growth. Bakir says South Australia has been identified as an untapped opportunity with a “high-potential growth market”. “Adelaide has a strong and sustainable growth trajectory,” he says. There is also a depth of buyers and price points, something lacking in states along the eastern seaboard at the moment where the cost of creating new stock can be crippling. Data in Oliver Hume 2025 June Quarterly Report points to a 33 per cent uptick in land sales in May 2025, recording 162 lot sales for the month. This comes off the back of inventory releases to meet ongoing demand, largely from owner-occupiers who make up 76 per cent of the market, despite recent surges in investor activity. Adelaide median lot prices: March ▲ Median lot prices have increased from $320,000 in March to $330,000 in May. Source: Oliver Hume Oliver Hume’s chief economist Matt Bell says Adelaide’s home values continued an upward trajectory during the past quarter while CoreLogic’s Home Value Index recorded a 0.5 per cent increase last month. This brings the total annual return to 12 per cent, Bell says. The state has recorded strong price growth to a new high of $330,000 for a median lot, a 17 per cent increase on the same period last year. And the forecast is for even more growth in a number of the key corridors where Homecorp has dug in. The developer is finalising its first standalone house and land development in SA, which would add close to 200 lots to its pipeline. The developer also has partnerships at Roberts Farm for an eight-stage, 348-home development; a 51-home project at Amondo Estate at Munno Para Downs; and 23 North, which is a seven-stage, 153-home partnership at Angle Vale. Bakir says affordability also aligned with Homecorp’s mission to make home ownership more achievable. “It allows us to offer high-quality affordable housing to more Australians,” Bakir says. “Affordable areas are truly what is shaping the market, and these are becoming the key hotspots where buyers can achieve the best value and long-term growth.” Bakir says the SA market has also been a lesson in navigating different regulations and approval processes, compared to its existing active markets of Victoria and south-east Queensland. Homecorp pipeline in SA Project Suburb Lots Partner Project Roberts Farm Munno Para Downs 348 Yes Amondo Estate Munno Para Downs 51 Yes 23 North Angle Vale 153 Yes “It has helped us become more flexible and responsive as a business … it has broadened our experience and opened new pathways for growth and innovation,” he says. He says his acquisitions team look for a handful of key things when assessing the merits of a site—planned infrastructure, schools, lifestyle precincts, public transport and major roads. That is a common theme among other developers also tapping the state’s growth potential. Jinding has, this month, won approval for its $180-million masterplanned community at Mount Barker— its SA debut. Its 22ha Larkview project will deliver 350 housing lots, new parklands and road upgrades, and would help to provide more affordable alternatives for young locals who have been priced out of the area with traditional larger lot sizes at Mount Barker. Melbourne-based Andrew Welsh’s Wel.Co founder is another developer finding a foothold in South Australian growth corridors. Speaking at The Urban Developer’s residential summit earlier this year Welsh said South Australia’s planning was “really progressive” and he said the developer was “benefiting from that with our projects”. ▲ Wel.Co founder Andrew Welsh says South Australia is more progressive than Victoria in its planning. “We have a regular meeting with Nick Champion, who is the [SA] minister of development, planning and infrastructure.” Welsh said. “We have regular meetings with the Treasurer of South Australia.” Earlier this year Wel.Co broke ground on its 40ha Gracewood residential community at Mallala, 60km north of Adelaide. The project would deliver 500 land lots, and the developer plans to fund a $2-million wastewater treatment plant to service the community. Wel.Co estimates it will take five years to fully develop Gracewood . Homecorp has also recently unveiled plans for a 25-storey “resort-style” building earmarked for a site on Surfers Paradise’s Monte Carlo Ave, backing on to Cascade Gardens. The high-density building would comprise 116 apartments across the tower, with a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom units.

Interstate Developers Find Lots to Love in ‘Progressive, Affordable’ SA

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