Anthony Albanese upgraded to a 40-room taxpayer-funded home after selling his Canberra shack for little over $660,000.
After 24 days on the market, the flat on Macquarie Street in Barton, which is just a 15-minute walk from Parliament House, was sold at auction on August 20.
In December 1996, the same year he was initially elected to the Sydney inner-west seat of Graylander, the prime minister paid $162,000 for the apartment.
Given the effects of inflation, the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home would have cost nearly $290,000 in 2021 dollars, more than doubling Mr. Albanese’s initial investment.
It seems that Mr. Albanese is sending the message that, should he be removed as prime minister, he would leave politics by selling the Canberra apartment he used during sitting weeks and moving into The Lodge.
A young professional purchased the apartment in a very contested auction, according to the selling agent Shane Killalea of Hayman Partners.
Given that it was valued at between $550,000 and $600,000 in Canberra’s hot real estate market and that a comparable apartment in the same building sold for $565,000 in June of last year, the prime minister looks to have received a nice return on his investment.
When questioned on Wednesday about whether any of his three homes were unoccupied or earning rental money amid Australia’s housing affordability crisis, Mr. Albanese acknowledged the transaction.
“My Canberra property has been sold.” I’m in the midst of packing up my Sydney house to move out. I still haven’t decided on that, and I own a rental home in Sydney,” he remarked.
A sleek two-bedroom apartment on the second floor was touted in the apartment ad as a “set and forget investment” that provided the finest in contemporary living without sacrificing quality, location, or size.
A bright living room with a door leading to a quiet, green balcony makes entertaining a breeze. It said, “Two spacious bedrooms, each with an attached wardrobe.”
Bathtub in newly remodelled bathroom. The flat provides seclusion and serenity.
Mr. Albanese still has two homes, one of which is the family residence, a Federation bungalow in Sydney’s Marrickville that he paid $997,500 for in 2006. This property is valued at roughly $2.5 million.
Additionally, he owns a luxurious rental investment property in nearby Dulwich Hill worth about $1.9 million that he purchased in 2015 for $1.175 million.
He acquired a $2.35 million investment house in Marrickville with his ex-wife, former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, and sold it last year.
After renting it out to renters for nine years, the couple had previously purchased the investment property for $1.15 million in 2012, tripling their money in that short period of time.
When Mr. Albanese remarked on Monday that he was glad to be back in public housing after moving into the prime minister’s house, The Lodge, he sparked a commotion.
When a Greens MP questioned Mr. Albanese about whether or not his role as a landlord prevented him from supporting a rent freeze, he said, “I am quite glad that I am back in public housing, it has to be mentioned. a great deal better than my first bar.
Although the Lodge is supported by government dollars, it is not at all like a housing commission. It has a full-time chef and has six bedrooms, a wine room, two kitchens, four bathrooms, an orchard, a pond, two dining rooms, a pool, and a tennis court.
Even if it had been a joke, according to liberal sources, Scott Morrison would never have gotten away with making such a statement.
But he was quite different from the candidate for Australia’s leadership today back then.
Jamal, a neighbour, still resides a few doors away from his original residence and recalls the kind and quiet young guy who inhabited there in the early 1990s.
She said, “It was a long time ago.” But even before he was an MP, he spoke to the students on a daily basis at the neighbourhood high school.
He got married to the former deputy premier of New South Wales, Carmel Tebbutt, and the two of them purchased a house on the same street in 1996 for $242,000 before selling it for roughly $400,000 and making a handsome profit.
Before purchasing yet another house back in the neighbourhood in 2006, they temporarily relocated to Newtown. He still resides there with his 19-year-old son Nathan now. Jordi Haydon, his girlfriend, lives close.
He and Ms. Tebbutt purchased the three-bedroom house, which has risen in value, in 2012 as an investment. They sold it last year.
Michael, a different neighbour who has lived across from the couple for three generations, observed as the couple made renovations to the house that cost an estimated $200,000 in total.
But he said there was a cost for being close to the golf course.
It was constantly being struck by golf balls, he said. However, it’s a great location; they performed well.
They added a new deck and built out the rear, spending a considerable amount of money and doing a terrific job.
It was a dead estate, so he probably purchased it at a discount. It’s on a lovely, quiet street in a great location.
His Marrickville neighbours claim that he is still very much a man of the people and a fixture at the Christmas street celebrations.
Now that I know him, it hurts me when I hear negative things spoken about him, Jane continued.
In between elections and his journeys to Canberra, artist Kate, who lives nearby, routinely interacts with him.
He’s a very lovely guy who walks his dog around the streets and is ready to chat to anybody, she added.
Despite being so near to the city, this street is a terrific spot to live since it has a really laid-back, bush country atmosphere.
“It’s been evolving from a working-class neighbourhood to one that’s extremely varied, with some families here for decades but some terrific new individuals coming in too,” the speaker said.
She said, “I don’t know why he purchased back then; it would have been totally different when he bought.
But greater room would have made it cheaper; still, the current environment is vibrant and inventive.
I don’t blame him in the least for acquiring so many properties here.