The NSW housing minister has floated the idea of keeping government land in public hands while private housing is developed on top.
Amid a housing crisis, Housing Minister Rose Jackson has been receiving weekly briefings on what land every government department owns that could be used for homes.
Any developments would likely include a mix of private, social and affordable housing, raising questions about whether selling to private owners breached the government's commitment to not privatise state assets.
But the minister says the asset on the land could be sold.
"We're open to everything, but people should be clear government will retain ownership of land in most of those instances - it is a valuable asset," she told Sky News on Tuesday.
Ms Jackson said the process of developing new homes would probably begin with state-owned Landcom and the Land and Housing Corporation.
She said some housing could be sold freehold title or held as social or affordable housing.
"The asset can be mixed tenure, but the land that it sits on, which is a valuable asset, will be retained in government hands most of the time," Ms Jackson said.
Increasing social and affordable housing has been a focus of the Labor government after the social housing waiting list blew out to more than 58,000 applicants.
Private renters have also been forced to swallow weekly rent rises averaging $100 in the past year.
Premier Chris Minns on May 16 directed his 22 ministers to identify land held by state departments that could be used for housing, with a minimum 30 per cent used for social and affordable dwellings.
