Government owned Glebe terrace home sold for $1.84 million, housing advocates outraged

By JACOB DE NOBREGA

A three bed one bath Glebe terrace home owned by the NSW government was sold to private buyers on November 10 for $1.84 million. The NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) sold the “truly impressive Victorian terrace” at 137 Glebe Street, while housing advocates protested outside the real estate agency where the auction took place. 

Government owned terrace homes were previously retained for low income housing options in the inner city, however many of these old Glebe homes have been sold off in recent years. 

137 Glebe Street is a prime housing option for low-income families, being less than a kilometre away from both Glebe Public School and Sydney Secondary College, Blackwattle Bay campus. 

A protest organised by local organisation ‘Hands off Glebe’ took place outside Belle Real Estate at the same time as the auction. Hands off Glebe told attendees to bring “signs about protecting social housing”.  

Another community group, ‘Action for Public Housing’, noted that this is not the only publicly owned house that was up for auction the same afternoon, with 42 Derwent Street in Glebe going for a large sum of $2.475 million.  

Glebe’s social housing history goes back to the Whitlam government’s purchase and restoration of over 700 homes in 1974. Ten years later, ownership of the housing was transferred over to the NSW government, who has steadily been selling them off since.

LAHC says priority lies in building more public housing

City Hub reached out to the Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) and received a response from a spokesperson from the Department of Planning and Environment.

The spokesperson said that the selling of 137 Glebe Street is part of their 20-year portfolio strategy. This strategy is aimed at growing NSW’s social housing portfolio with modern housing that better meets the needs of current and future residents. 

According to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, expected waiting times for social housing as of June 2021 in Glebe are over 10 years for 3-bedroom houses, like the Glebe Street and Derwent Street properties.

As of June 2021, there are 44,127 applicants on the Housing Register, with 1,045 of those being in Glebe and its surrounding areas.  

Although the LAHC does intend to build 120 new social houses, this is leaving a lot of applicants currently on the housing register in limbo, as more public housing is handed off to the private sector.