Mostly 1970s brown brick on 600-800m² blocks, sitting on reactive clay, with medium pressure to knock down and rebuild. City of Onkaparinga.
Brown brick veneer, mission-brown aluminium windows, ducted evaporative on the roof, a family room off the kitchen and a pergola out the back. Project homes from the big volume builders.
Brick veneer with a Colorbond or concrete-tile roof, ensuite, formal lounge nobody uses, double garage under the main roof by the 90s. Rendered feature walls arrive late.
Two or three homes where one 1960s house stood: Torrens-title courtyard homes, hammerhead battle-axe blocks, occasional two-storey townhouse rows.
SA Housing Trust double-brick and cream-brick semis and singles, concrete or timber floors, small windows, hip roofs in tile or iron. Solid and simple.
Moderately to highly reactive clay (Class M to H). Seasonal movement causes hairline cracking in brickwork and render. Modern slabs are engineered for it; older strip footings were not. Consistent moisture around the house is the whole game.
Adelaide's biggest suburb by population, and its 1970s project homes are exactly the stock that is starting to be knocked down.
The Southern Expressway split it in two and the sides have aged differently. The eastern side has more infill.
House prices in years of wages, decade by decade, what was standing when, and what her block does now.
City of Onkaparinga approvals, fees and timelines.
OpenLand prices, site costs and builders working here.
OpenWhat a knockdown rebuild costs and how long it takes.
OpenWhat each decade of Australian house looked like and hid.
OpenLikely in the older stock. About 55% of Morphett Vale was built between the 1920s and 1980s, the peak asbestos period. Eaves, wet-area sheeting, fences and sheds are the usual places. Test before you drill, sand or demolish.
Reactive clay. Moderately to highly reactive clay (Class M to H). Seasonal movement causes hairline cracking in brickwork and render. Modern slabs are engineered for it; older strip footings were not. Consistent moisture around the house is the whole game.
Medium subdivision pressure: A knockdown or a subdivision every few streets. Character is shifting but the original stock still dominates. Typical blocks are 600-800m². Check the zone and minimum site area in the Planning and Design Code for the exact street.
Street-level generalisations from council heritage studies, ABS dwelling-age data, soil classification maps and BuildPilot partner site reports. Every street has exceptions. A soil test, a building inspection and the council's overlay map beat any suburb profile, including this one.
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