In 1955 a typical Stirling house was about $8,400, or 4.9 years of an average wage. In 2026 it is about $1.25M, or 12.5 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 Stirling 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 ~10% infill that replaced an earlier house.
Rebuild pressure in Stirling is low. Streets look much as they did. Occasional renovation, very little demolition. Almost none. Large blocks, mature gardens, strict tree and character rules.
Locals know: Deciduous English gardens on every block are the reason for the autumn traffic and the reason nothing gets demolished.
A typical Stirling block is 1,000-4,000m². Three realistic paths in 2026.
Blocks of 1,000-4,000m² in Stirling are the size developers look for. Two 4-bed homes typically $550K-$750K each to build, before demolition and civils.
Read the guideOne 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 Stirling's current position relative to the city, a typical Stirling house was around $12,500 in 1965, or about 4.5 years of an average full-time wage. In 2026 it is around $1.25M, or about 12.5 years of wages. These are indicative figures, not sales records.
Roughly 10% of today's homes in Stirling 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 Stirling (55%) is hills homes on sloping blocks (1880s-2020s). Stone cottages in the old townships, then 1970s-90s split-levels and pole homes on steep bush blocks, then modern estate stages on cleared land.
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