❓ A WA parliamentary question regarding the sale and total number of social housing properties in WA from 2017 to 2025. The answer provides sales data by financial year and total property numbers for 2024 and 2025, referencing a previous question for earlier years.
AnsweredQoN 477Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Can the Minister for Housing advise how many social housing properties were sold in Western Australia in each of the following calendar years: (a) 2017; (b) 2018; (c) 2019; (d) 2020; (e) 2021; (f) 2022; (g) 2023; (h) 2024; and (i) 2025 (to date, as at 20 August 2025)? (2) Can the Minister also provide the total number of social housing properties in Western Australia at the end of each of the above years, referenced in (1)?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 October 2025
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing and Works
Response time
7 days
(1) Sales of social housing properties are currently at historic record lows.
The State Government inherited ageing and inappropriate housing stock that had not been maintained, refurbished and was in poor condition due to the mismanagement of the previous Liberal-National Government.
Under the former Liberal-National Government, many hundreds of social homes that counted towards their social housing numbers lay vacant and derelict with no plans to redevelop them, including over 160 uninhabitable apartments in Brownlie Towers alone. Since 2012, where comparable data is available, the average number of social houses sold under both the Liberal-National Government and the Labor Government are the same at an average of 121/122 homes per financial year.
Social housing properties sold by financial year:
Social Housing
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
YTD to AUG 2025
Sales
298
243
208
142
36
15
13
20
3
(2) The State Government is investing a record $5.8 billion in housing related initiatives since 2021, to deliver 5,800 new social homes and undertake maintenance and refurbishments on thousands more.
Since this record investment, the State Government has delivered over 3,500 social homes with more than 1,000 currently under contract or construction.
The State Government inherited ageing and inappropriate housing stock that had not been maintained, refurbished and was in poor condition due to the mismanagement of the previous Liberal-National Government.
Under the former Liberal-National Government, many hundreds of social homes that counted towards their social housing numbers lay vacant and derelict with no plans to redevelop them, including over 160 uninhabitable apartments in Brownlie Towers alone.
The State Government continues to progress significant redevelopment and renewal projects like Bentley that were neglected for years under the previous Liberal-National Government.
As at 30 June 2024, there were 44,414 social housing properties.
As at 30 June 2025, there were 45,137 social housing properties.
For Social Housing Stock 2017-18 to 2023-24 please refer to Legislative Council Question on Notice 1744.
Please note that system changes for data reporting within the former Department of Communities (now Department of Housing and Works) in 2018 means that historical figures are not always directly comparable.
The State Government inherited ageing and inappropriate housing stock that had not been maintained, refurbished and was in poor condition due to the mismanagement of the previous Liberal-National Government.
Under the former Liberal-National Government, many hundreds of social homes that counted towards their social housing numbers lay vacant and derelict with no plans to redevelop them, including over 160 uninhabitable apartments in Brownlie Towers alone. Since 2012, where comparable data is available, the average number of social houses sold under both the Liberal-National Government and the Labor Government are the same at an average of 121/122 homes per financial year.
Social housing properties sold by financial year:
Social Housing
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
YTD to AUG 2025
Sales
298
243
208
142
36
15
13
20
3
(2) The State Government is investing a record $5.8 billion in housing related initiatives since 2021, to deliver 5,800 new social homes and undertake maintenance and refurbishments on thousands more.
Since this record investment, the State Government has delivered over 3,500 social homes with more than 1,000 currently under contract or construction.
The State Government inherited ageing and inappropriate housing stock that had not been maintained, refurbished and was in poor condition due to the mismanagement of the previous Liberal-National Government.
Under the former Liberal-National Government, many hundreds of social homes that counted towards their social housing numbers lay vacant and derelict with no plans to redevelop them, including over 160 uninhabitable apartments in Brownlie Towers alone.
The State Government continues to progress significant redevelopment and renewal projects like Bentley that were neglected for years under the previous Liberal-National Government.
As at 30 June 2024, there were 44,414 social housing properties.
As at 30 June 2025, there were 45,137 social housing properties.
For Social Housing Stock 2017-18 to 2023-24 please refer to Legislative Council Question on Notice 1744.
Please note that system changes for data reporting within the former Department of Communities (now Department of Housing and Works) in 2018 means that historical figures are not always directly comparable.
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