Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Youth housing service raises funding fears with ‘astronomical’ demand
Matt Dennien The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A major Brisbane youth homelessness support service has raised concerns about its ability to cope with an “astronomical” spike in demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and funding certainty into winter.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/youth-housing-service…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Young people.City of London to convert offices into homes in post-Covid revamp
BBC (No paywall)The City of London is planning to convert empty offices into housing in a bid to revive the area after the Covid crisis. The City of London Corporation, which looks after the Square Mile, is aiming for at least 1,500 new homes by 2030.
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Local Government.Sydney's median house prices hit record high of more than $1.3 million
Tim Swanston ABC (No paywall)A "rapid" acceleration in price growth, mostly driven by upper-end homes, has seen Sydney's median house price rocket to a new record of more than $1.3 million. ... "It's the fastest acceleration of house prices over a single quarter since our Domain records began in 1993," [Domain's Senior Research Analyst, Nicola Powell] said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-29/nsw-house-price-growth-ro…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market.The Guardian view on the cladding scandal: don’t punish the innocent
Editorial The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... If natural justice had its proper bearing, hundreds of thousands of people would not tonight be sleeping in high-rise homes that are clad in materials that could potentially go up in flames, a prospect for which they not only have to pay fire safety costs and higher insurance bills, but also face the reality that they will not be able to sell and move. Straight after the manmade tragedy of the Grenfell fire of 2017, those flammable panels should have been stripped off flats across the land and families would be getting on with their lives. Instead of which, we have this week’s extended game of parliamentary ping pong between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as they bat back and forth amendments to a fire safety bill amid a widespread sense of stasis.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/28/the-guardi…
# International, Minimum habitability standards.House price rise growth shows signs of slowing
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The housing boom is showing signs of slowing and could even end in the next few months after a period of breathless rises.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/house-price-rise-growth-s…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Melbourne apartment building rates ‘to fall off a cliff’
Noel Towell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Apartment building in Melbourne is set to plummet, with a respected property research company tipping the number of units completed across Victoria to plunge from more than 16,000 this year to just 800 in 2024.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/melbourne-apartment-bui…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Sydney’s 8.5% quarterly house price rise largest in three decades
Michael McGowan The Guardian (No paywall)Sydney’s property market has recorded its largest quarterly increase in almost three decades, with the median cost of a house in the emerald city now a staggering $1.31m.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/29/sydneys-8…
# NSW, Housing market.Sydney property owners test market with ‘unrealistic’ prices
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)With Sydney property prices rising so rapidly, and stock on the market so tight, a number of “opportunistic” sellers are trying to cash in on buyers’ desperation to find a home.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-property-owners-test-marke…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.