Off-street parking drives Millers Point record-setting sale
A record $2,365,000 has been paid for a Millers Point terrace, part of Housing NSW's extended sell-off of historic terraces to raise funds for new housing estates in other Sydney suburbs.
Toxteth, built in 1869 in the grand Georgian style at the foot of Observatory Hill, came with the rare bonus of triple parking.
The townhouse with seven bedrooms has a 10-metre Kent Street frontage.
The sale was through by Andrew Stewart and Lorraine Crawford from Di Jones Real Estate.
Beginning in 2008, the Millers Point sales are part of a rationalisation by Housing NSW, which owns 80% of properties in the area, inherited from the Maritime Services Board in the 1980s.
More than $20 million has been recouped from the 20-odd sales, according to Australian Property Monitors.
The department does not have the funds to renovate them so has been using the proceeds to build public housing in the inner west for the elderly, families in need and the disabled.
The new leaseholders are required to restore them to their former glory, conforming with heritage guidelines.
The previous highest departmental sale was $2.1 million. The cheapest property in the group sold for about $840,000.
Privately held Millers Point houses have sold for much higher prices.
The former state Labor government's policy was that the Millers Point public housing estate remained an important part of the NSW government’s social housing portfolio. "However, as many of the department’s properties in Millers Point are of significant heritage value they require major financial investments to meet heritage requirements,” the department says.
"As the department has limited resources which must be focused on delivering homes for those most in need, meeting these heritage liabilities is increasingly challenging.
'By offering long-term leases on these properties to the private sector we will unlock their value whilst keeping government ownership of the property."
