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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn South Australia, 22.0% of the dwellings were medium or high density, compared to 28% in Victoria.
Dwelling Type is an important determinant of South Australia's residential role and function. A greater concentration of higher density dwellings is likely to attract more young adults and smaller households, often renting. Larger, detached or separate dwellings are more likely to attract families and prospective families. The residential built form often reflects market opportunities or planning policy, such as building denser forms of housing around public transport nodes or employment centres.
Dwelling Type statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Household Types, Housing Tenure and Age Structure for a more complete picture of the housing market in South Australia.
If you're looking at this data to prepare a housing strategy, learn more here.
Q:
Derived from the Census:
'Dwelling Structure is derived from the ABS address register supplemented with information from Census Field Officers.'
| Dwelling structure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia - Dwellings (Enumerated) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Victoria % | Number | % | Victoria % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Separate house | 619,684 | 76.8 | 71.5 | 586,045 | 76.5 | 72.1 | +33,639 |
| Medium density | 159,546 | 19.8 | 18.4 | 155,703 | 20.3 | 19.4 | +3,843 |
| High density | 18,368 | 2.3 | 9.5 | 13,399 | 1.7 | 7.4 | +4,969 |
| Caravans, cabin, houseboat | 4,992 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 4,930 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +62 |
| Other | 1,463 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2,696 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -1,233 |
| Not stated | 2,918 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3,002 | 0.4 | 0.4 | -84 |
| Total Private Dwellings | 806,971 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 765,775 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +41,196 |
| Dwelling type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Dwelling type | Number | % | Victoria % | Number | % | Victoria % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Occupied private dwellings | 723,158 | 89.5 | 89.2 | 673,541 | 87.8 | 88.8 | +49,617 |
| Unoccupied private dwellings | 83,821 | 10.4 | 10.6 | 92,242 | 12.0 | 11.0 | -8,421 |
| Non private dwellings | 1,387 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1,472 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -85 |
| Total dwellings | 808,366 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 767,255 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +41,111 |
Dominant groups
In 2021, there were 619,684 separate houses in the area, 159,546 medium density dwellings, and 18,368 high density dwellings.
Analysis of the types of dwellings in South Australia in 2021 shows that 76.8% of all dwellings were separate houses; 19.8% were medium density dwellings, and 2.3% were in high density dwellings, compared with 71.5%, 18.4%, and 9.5% in the Victoria respectively.
In 2021, a total of 89.5% of the dwellings in South Australia were occupied on Census night, compared to 89.2% in Victoria. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 10.4%, which is smaller compared to that found in Victoria (10.6%).
Emerging groups
The total number of dwellings in South Australia increased by 41,111 between 2016 and 2021.
The largest changes in the type of dwellings found in South Australia between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Separate house (+33,639 dwellings)
- High density (+4,969 dwellings)
- Medium density (+3,843 dwellings)
- Other (-1,233 dwellings)
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