Glebe has gone from shabby to trendy, but this home hasn't changed in 90 years

Sydney’s hip, inner-west suburbs, popular with young professionals, are seeing a changing of the guard with many long-held family homes coming onto the market.

Some of these properties are still in their original condition, having either never changed hands since they were built. Others haven’t been on the market in more than 50 years.

One such property is tucked down the Annandale end of Arcadia Road in Glebe. Dating back to the 1920s, it has remained in the family since it was built.

Sitting on a 329-square-metre block, the home still has the 1924 certificate of construction on the wall. 

Agent Steve Patman, from Gary White First National, says the area is tightly held, with very little coming up for sale on the street. 

“It’s super original. It’s never changed… always occupied by the family,” Patman says.

Meanwhile the suburb of Glebe has changed a great deal.

At the time 55 Arcadia Road was built, Glebe was a working class area described by the Glebe Society as “shabby and overcrowded”, shrugging off the tragedy of the Great War but about to be struck by the Great Depression.

Between the end of World War II and the 1970s the area fell out of favour but more recently it has felt the swell of gentrification.

“There’s been a notable shift in demographics – a lot more people from further afield are looking at Glebe. The recent Tramsheds redevelopment has exposed the place to a lot of people,” Patman says.

The interiors were installed by the original owner, Saul Ratner, who ran a furniture manufacturing business on Camden Street in Newtown for many years. 

NSW State Library records reveal some of the family history. A family member described Saul and his brother Joseph as “master craftsmen, real artists who made very fine furniture”.

They had done work for various churches and synagogues, the ANZ bank, and Grace Bros.

19 Roseby Street, Leichhardt, is on the market for the first time in 66 years.

​It’s not the only suburb where pent-up demand is being met with long-held properties. In nearby Leichhardt, 19 Roseby Street is on the market for the first time in 66 years.

So far the property has attracted interest, more from builders and renovators, according to agent Michael Montano, from Raine & Horne Leichhardt as it’s “basically unrentable” in its current condition.

“The area is getting more gentrified and people are investing in the properties. They don’t want to move anywhere else.”

6 Paling Street, Lilyfield, is up for sale for the first time in 60 years.

And 19 O’Neill Street, over the water in Lilyfield, is up for sale for the first time in 55 years. The house at 6 Paling Street, also in Lilyfield, has been listed for the first time in more than 60 years.

The agent selling both, Robert Clarke from Belle Property Annandale, says he doesn’t often see original properties like this on the market. “It’s quite rare. All of a sudden we’ve got two.”

Meanwhile in Newtown, 137 Station Street is for sale after having the same owner for more than 80 years.

The home had been rented by a woman who had lived there in the 1930s.

With four bedrooms, it only has one toilet – and it’s outside. But, with opportunities to get into the area becoming rarer and rarer, it’s still getting a lot of interest.

Michael Xanthoudakis, from Richardson and Wrench Newtown, says the home has had several offers to buy before its auction.