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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Pandemic property boom: will it get too hot to handle?
Matt Wade The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Here we go again - it’s spring, interest rates are low and housing markets are running hot. Property tropes missing from the city’s narrative for years are back in the news. Dumps are selling for squillions; big crowds are showing up at auctions; reserves are being smashed.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/pandemic-property-bo…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing market.Apartment pets saga takes new twist as tribunal rules Camperdown unit dwellers can keep cats but not dogs
Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson Domain (Paywall)The campaign to make pets permitted in all apartment blocks has run off the tracks with a bizarre new twist in the seemingly endless saga. TV presenter and Railway Adventures tour company owner Scott McGregor has just lost his bid to have his miniature fox terrier Jimmy live in his Camperdown apartment after a tribunal ruled that its no-dogs bylaw is acceptable. That’s even though last year the NSW Court of Appeal decreed that a no-pets bylaw was “harsh, oppressive and unconscionable” and therefore invalid.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/apartment-pets-saga-takes-new-twi…
# Hot topic NSW, Strata.Liberal MP’s housing campaign a ‘bigger problem’ than super guarantee for Labor
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The chairman of the influential House economics committee, Tim Wilson, is requesting superannuation funds disclose the value of their real estate assets and proportion of members who are home owners as he steps up his campaign to let first-time buyers tap into retirement savings for a deposit.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-mp-s-housing-cam…
# Australia, Home ownership.Christina Sturdivant
The Biden Plan to Jump-Start Affordable Housing (No paywall)President Joe Biden wasted no time during his first day in office, signing more than a dozen executive orders, memorandums, and directives—several of which served as ways to course-correct or reverse decisions made by his predecessor. President Joe Biden wasted no time during his first day in office, signing more than a dozen executive orders, memorandums, and directives ... Many architects and developers, especially those focused on affordable housing projects, view President Biden’s arrival as a chance for transformation. “He changed the tone from the moment he got in there. It gave a jolt of energy and a commitment and conviction for possible change,” says Lorcan O’Herlihy, founder and principal of Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects in Los Angeles. ...
https://www.architectmagazine.com/aia-architect/aiafuture/the-bi…
# International, Discrimination, Affordable housing, Housing market.NSW Central Coast rental vacancies plunge to 0.7 per cent as COVID sea-changers drive demand
Victoria Pengilley and Mary-Louise Vince ABC (No paywall)Two years after packing her bags and suddenly leaving an abusive relationship, Kristi-Marree Hart is still homeless. The mother of four has boarded with friends, stayed in hotels and now lives in transitional housing. Despite lodging hundreds of rental applications, she keeps getting knocked back.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-26/nsw-central-coast-rental-…
# NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Older people, Women.Renters ‘forgotten’ in Budget as campaigners warn of homelessness spike
Liam Geraghty (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Renters are facing homelessness in “a matter of weeks”, campaigners have warned, after Rishi Sunak’s Budget failed to answer calls for tenants to be given cash to clear their arrears and stave off eviction. (Big Issue)
https://www.bigissue.com/latest/budget-2021-renters-forgotten-in…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Property buyers seek spacious homes as FOMO kicks in
Melissa Jenkins The New Daily (No paywall)Property hunters are prioritising extra space to help keep the peace, as families spend more time under the same roof with more flexible working arrangements. Extra space is high on buyers’ wish lists amid the global pandemic, as people look for second living areas, home offices and larger backyards.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/03/04/spacious-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Weren't house prices meant to fall?
ABC (No paywall)A year ago, as COVID-19 spread worldwide, the smart money was on property prices taking a hit. But 12 months on, prices are rising faster than ever, with no sign of a slowdown in sight. In February, the market recorded the biggest monthly price gain in 17 years. So if the biggest disruption in a generation doesn't cause house prices to drop, could anything? And what does all the heat mean for renters trying to buy their first home? (ABC's The Signal)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/the-signal/house-price-ris…
# Audio Australia, Housing market.