The authorities we cite, in one place.

Our reading: the $125K single / $200K couple income caps rule out a meaningful slice of dual-income Adelaide buyers who would otherwise qualify on deposit alone. The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is the most underused option we see, it covers Mount Barker, Murray Bridge and Strathalbyn with higher property caps than the metro scheme.

The 7-star NatHERS minimum that came in May 2024 added an estimated $5,000-$15,000 to a typical Adelaide build, mostly in glazing, insulation and orientation work. In our reading the up-front sticker shock surprises buyers because most builders had not refreshed their base inclusions to absorb it through 2024-2025.

The main residence CGT exemption is the under-discussed reason a knockdown rebuild often beats sell-and-buy for Adelaide families upsizing on the same block. Sell-and-buy triggers stamp duty twice and may trigger CGT on any investment uplift, KDR avoids both.

The $15,000 First Home Owner Grant matters more on builds under $650,000, where it covers your conveyancer plus most of the first progress payment. On builds above $850,000 the FHOG is a rounding error in our reading, and the stamp duty bracket changes matter far more, easy mistake to chase the smaller number.

The CBS Builder Licence Register is the best 60-second sanity check before signing anything. In our work with Adelaide families we still occasionally see builders advertising under a trading name that does not match the licensed entity, the register catches that in one click.

HomeStart is underused by Adelaide buyers because the products are SA-specific and nationwide comparison sites do not surface them well. In our reading the Shared Equity Option is materially better than the federal 5% Deposit Scheme for buyers under $115,000 household income, but it cuts off above that threshold.

The Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) is the single most useful piece of legislation for Adelaide buyers to skim before signing a contract. In our experience disputes most often start in two places, the 5% deposit cap (Section 11) and the progress payment provisions, both worth a literal read.

The SA energy rebates page changes faster than any other regulator surface we cite, worth re-checking each quarter. Solar Schools and battery rebates often overlap with new-build incentives that builders do not always volunteer, particularly on house and land packages.

The CFS Bushfire Hazard Map is the most overlooked factor when buyers compare two Adelaide Hills blocks. A BAL-12.5 versus BAL-29 block can be a $20,000-$50,000 build cost difference on identical floor plans, before factoring in shutter and ember-screen design constraints.

The HIA standard contract is a starting point, not a finishing point. In our reading two clauses cause most contract surprises, the variations clause and the provisional sum reconciliation clause, both worth getting independent eyes on before signing.

REISA quarterly median data is more current than ABS but covers fewer suburbs. Our default for Adelaide growth-corridor analysis is to cross-reference REISA quarterly with ABS Census demographics and ABS Building Approvals, then map all three against the BuildPilot suburb guide.

The ABS Producer Price Index for construction is the leading indicator of where Adelaide build costs are heading 4-8 months ahead. Most builders update their inclusions list 6 months behind PPI, which is why mid-year contracts can get hit with material variations partway through the build.

The biggest 2025 change for Adelaide buyers is the Livable Housing accessibility requirements (wider doorways, reinforced bathroom walls, step-free entry). In our reading most builders are not yet pricing these into the base spec, expect a $4,000-$8,000 code compliance variation if your contract was drafted before NCC 2025 adoption.

Our reading: BAL-12.5 adds modest cost (around $5,000-$10,000) and rarely changes the design. BAL-29 is where both cost and design constraints spike, over $20,000 extra plus shutter and ember-screen requirements. BAL-40 and BAL-FZ are where most Adelaide Hills buyers we work with reconsider whether a particular block is the right one.

The 7-star minimum is achievable on a standard Adelaide project home if orientation, eaves and glazing are sensible from the design stage. Where it gets expensive is north-facing blocks with poor solar access, west-facing glazing without shading, or eaveless modern facades, in our reading the cheapest path to 7 stars is the design stage, not the inclusions stage.