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
Australian house prices could be about to flatten out after rising 16.8% in last year
Paul Karp and Amy Remeikis The Guardian (No paywall)Residential property prices in Australia’s capital cities increased by 6.7% in the June quarter, but the Treasury believes record prices could be about to flatten out. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, property prices have grown by 16.8% over the last 12 months and 19% since the start of 2020 as record low interest rates drive both first homebuyers and investors into the market. On Tuesday the Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, ruled out using interest rates “to cool the property market”, meaning low rates were likely to stay until 2024. But at a parliamentary inquiry on housing affordability, Treasury officials argued the fact rates would not be cut from their record low of 0.1% should help slow the surge in prices.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/14/australia…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Rentvesting is another way into the housing market. Here’s how it works
Melissa Jenkins The New Daily (No paywall)Soaring property prices have many would-be home owners wondering how they will ever get a foot in the door. Rentvesting is something to consider if you’re keen to break into the property market but can’t afford to buy in a suburb you want to live in. The strategy involves buying property in an area with good rental yields and capital growth potential and then leasing it out, while renting somewhere else. Like any investment, it comes with risks and isn’t a path to fast cash; it is a strategy that is best used as part of a long-term wealth creation plan.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/dollars-and-sense/2021/09/14/…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Local councils in Victoria investigate mandate net zero carbon buildings, but that’s not all
Poppy Johnson The Fifth Estate (No paywall)If you want to build a house or building in certain Victorian locations, you will soon be obliged to meet mandatory net zero targets, thanks to the dedicated work of an alliance of councils in the state. For years, the Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) that now has a huge membership of 38 municipalities – covering the most significant population densities in the state and not just progressive councils – has been waving the flag for green buildings and infrastructure in Australia’s second most populated state.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/local-cou…
# Australia, Climate change, Housing market, Local Government, Minimum habitability standards.‘Worst time’: Sydney mayors warn rates will rise if developer levies changed
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Almost two dozen Sydney mayors from across the political divide have joined forces to campaign against a shake-up of developer levies, arguing it threatens their ability to build new community facilities and will force them to raise rates.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/worst-time-sydney-mayors-war…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, Tax.RBA says surging house prices are a government problem
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Reserve Bank has urged governments to deal with tax and social security policies to bring surging house prices under control after new figures showed the biggest jump in nationwide property values on record. As the OECD said tax changes that skewed away from the housing sector would strengthen the economy and improve overall “household wellbeing”, RBA governor Philip Lowe said there were legitimate public policy issues around high property prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rba-says-surging-house-p…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Housing market, Tax, Welfare.Ways to better ventilate your rental to reduce mould and indoor COVID spread
Madi Chwasta ABC (No paywall)As well as badly affecting your health in the long run, it's a sure sign the ventilation in your home isn't working properly. But needing good ventilation is becoming more than just avoiding mould — the experts say it can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 indoors. It's trickier if you're living in a rental. It means you probably can't retrofit expensive ventilation systems to get the air moving in and out of your home.
However, the experts say there are things you can do ...
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-better-ventilate-rental-h…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Mould.Federal election 2021: More supply won’t solve Canada’s housing affordability crisis
Joel Roberts The Conversation (No paywall)From Canada ... Few topics during the federal election campaign have garnered more attention than high house prices and a lack of housing affordability. Both Conservatives and Liberals say a major problem is a lack of housing supply. To address the issue, they promise to build millions of additional houses. Contrary to popular belief, high house prices are not due to supply shortages. The COVID-19 pandemic should have made this clear. ... Promises to build millions of more houses make it seem as though politicians are fighting hard to keep the dream of home ownership alive. In reality, it’s not a meaningful solution. But maybe that’s the point.
Politicians know that many of their constituents are relying on high house prices to secure their retirement or pay for their kids’ tuition, so it’s unlikely they even want prices to fall.
https://theconversation.com/federal-election-2021-more-supply-wo…
# International, Rent, Affordable housing, Home ownership, Housing market.House price to income ratio continues to climb amid property boom and low wage growth
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)The growing gap between incomes and property prices is likely to worsen before it gets better, experts say, making it harder than ever for first-home buyers to save a deposit. Property prices across Australia are now more than five times household disposable incomes and set to climb higher still, as the property market booms while wage growth remains sluggish. Houses are now making more money than some of Australia’s top-paid professionals.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-price-to-income-ratio-conti…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.