UPDATED: The NSW government has announced it will lease the state's 150-year-old land titles registry to Hastings Funds Management and First State Super, after accepting a bid of $2.6 billion from the consortium.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s press release said regional projects would see “at least 30 per cent of the total proceeds”. This only applies to the $1.6 billion being allocated to Restart NSW – which would be $480 million, and not $780 million if the entire $2.6 billion went into the infrastructure fund created in 2011.
About $1 billion of the sale will be used to revamp Parramatta, ANZ and Allianz stadiums in Sydney.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the deal as "a win-win for all concerned" and said the integrity of the title system would not only be maintained, but enhanced.
But the Real Estate Institute of NSW said it was "disappointed" that the sell-off process had even started.
The consortium is 80 per cent Australian owned, with the remaining 20 per cent held by RBS Pension Trustee in London.
The winning bid for the 35-year lease beat three other consortiums: Macquarie's MIRA and Link Group; The Carlyle Group; and Borealis and Computershare.
Ms Berejiklian said that she was "extremely confident" the sale wouldn't lead to an increase in housing prices.
"They will not be able to increase prices by CPI ... we've put in place this provision. That didn't exist before," the Premier said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said "$2.6 billion is a phenomenal result for this state".
Land and Property Information (LPI) keeps the official record of land ownership and supports the proper functioning of the property market.
Titles define legal ownership and boundaries of each parcel of land and are integral to buying and selling property, as well as taking out and paying off mortgages, leasing and inheriting property.
Professional groups, from real estate agents, lawyers to surveyors, have said that privatisating LPI would lead to the emergence of title insurance, increase risk of data breaches, and increase costs of buying a property.
They believe it will compromise the integrity of a world-envied land titles system that underpins $1.2 trillion worth of real estate.
Fairfax Media revealed LPI generated $190 million in revenue and $130 million in profit in 2015-16.
John Cunningham, the president of the REINSW, said he was disappointed that a "sacrosanct" asset was now in the hands of a private operator.
He dismissed Ms Berejiklian's reassurances that the government had consulted and listened to stakeholders.
"They didn't, that's why the Law Society and Institution of Surveyors and all other property-related bodies were opposed to it, they felt they weren't listened to," he said.
"The reality is, we have a world class system, and I don't know if private enterprise can do it better and therefore where it will go."
Andrew Day, chief executive of Hastings, said they recognised the critical role LPI plays in supporting the proper functioning of the real estate market.
"We have a shared focus on maintaining data security and reliability, and investing in new and innovative ways to provide land titling and registry services," he said.
