The NSW government has identified development sites in a bid to ease the housing crisis.

An audit of government-owned land has identified four sites that could support 700 new homes, including social housing.

The Carriageworks Precinct, near the well-connected Redfern train station in inner-Sydney, is slated to do the heavy lifting, with plans for about 500 dwellings, up to half of them social housing.

The area will be developed by government agency Homes NSW, with planning and design work underway.

The availability and affordability of housing was the biggest pressure facing people in NSW, Premier Chris Minns said on Monday.

“We are prioritising building better homes for NSW, to ensure we continue to address the housing crisis for renters, people wanting to enter the housing market, and the most vulnerable members of our community,” he said.

Housing Minister Rose Jackson said sites like that at Carriageworks could have sat idle if not for the government’s land audit.

“We had a very clear directive to scour the state for any possible piece of land that can be turned into housing and we’re delighted with the results so far,” she said.

The state government recently outlined plans to deliver 30,000 homes with $5.1 billion allocated, including funding 6200 social homes and the knock-down-rebuild of 2200 others. A $1 billion maintenance blitz will refresh 33,500 more.

At least half the new homes are slated for people fleeing domestic and family violence.

Other sites included in the first tranche are in Sydney’s north-west, south-west and inner-west.

A site adjacent to the Metro line at Kellyville could deliver up to 83 homes in the north-west, while Homes NSW has plans for 10 dwellings along a strip on Menangle Road at Camden in the south-west.

In the inner-west, a tunnelling site used for the WestConnex motorway project on Parramatta Road at Camperdown has been earmarked for more than 100 homes.

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– AAP