In 1955 a typical Lightsview house was about $6,700, or 3.9 years of an average wage. In 2026 it is about $810,000, or 8.1 years. Here is the decade-by-decade version, what was standing when, and what her block does now.
Modelled, not measured. Prices are the Adelaide median house price of the day (rounded, dollars of the day) scaled to where Lightsview sits against the city median in 2026, blended toward the median for earlier decades because suburbs move up and down the ladder. Wages are national average full-time earnings. Treat every figure as "about". For actual sales history, ask an agent or the state valuer.
Trust homes and fibro on the fringe; stone villas closer in.
Cream brick veneer, one bathroom, a Hills Hoist.
Brown brick project homes, ducted evaporative, a family room.
The ensuite arrives. Colorbond replaces galvanised iron.
Four-two-two under one roof. Rendered feature walls.
Biggest houses in the world. Alfresco and theatre room.
Two-for-one subdivisions start. Solar on a third of roofs.
7-star, all-electric, 300m² blocks. Or a rebuild on Nan's.
Includes ~15% infill that replaced an earlier house.
Rebuild pressure in Lightsview is low. Streets look much as they did. Occasional renovation, very little demolition. Built from 2010 on the old Northgate Housing Trust and industrial land. Nearly complete, with apartments filling the last sites.
Locals know: Small lots and rear-loaded garages: the design code was written for the estate, so what you can change is limited.
A typical Lightsview block is 200-400m². Three realistic paths in 2026.
One 220-260m² family home on the full block, $520K-$900K depending on builder tier. Keeps the backyard.
Read the guideRoof, rewire, switchboard, salt damp and a bathroom: $60K-$120K to bring an old Adelaide house up to modern comfort.
Read the guideModelled on the Adelaide median of the day and Lightsview's current position relative to the city, a typical Lightsview house was around $9,400 in 1965, or about 3.4 years of an average full-time wage. In 2026 it is around $810,000, or about 8.1 years of wages. These are indicative figures, not sales records.
Roughly 15% of today's homes in Lightsview are infill: townhouses, courtyard homes or rebuilds that replaced an earlier house. Rebuild pressure is low: Streets look much as they did. Occasional renovation, very little demolition.
The largest share of Lightsview (85%) is narrow-lot estates (2010s-2020s). Two-storey or long single-storey on 300-450m², black window frames, Colorbond Monument roofs, solar on most, 6 or 7-star rated. Very few established trees yet.
We use cookies to improve your experience. Cookies on. Learn more