A re-elected Labor government will invest $150 million to replace 600 old and outdated public housing properties, creating 500 jobs, Premier Jay Weatherill says.
Ahead of Saturday's state election, Labor has also unveiled a shared equity scheme to make it easier for low and mid-income earners to enter the property market.
Mr Weatherill says the construction program will create work across the building trade and in other sectors.
"Electricians, bricklayers, plumbers, everybody that gets involved in a house, we want to make sure they have a continuous pipeline of work," he told reporters on Monday.
"There are ups and downs in the private market, but the public investment can continue that pipeline of work."
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By building two homes on many of the public housing blocks, the program will also free up about 400 allotments that can be sold off to the private housing market.
Mr Weatherill said the shared equity program would provide about 1000 would-be home buyers with a "massively important leg-up" in getting into the housing market.
The scheme will allow home buyers to access up to 25 per cent of the value of a property as an interest-free deposit.
"Crucially it will get them into home ownership for the first time," the premier said.
"This is about making home ownership more accessible for more South Australians."
