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
Aged care: How much is it going to cost you?
Rachel Lane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Working out the cost of aged care is complex. There are caps to consider, along with various fees, means tests and levies. [Read on]
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/aged-care-how-…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people.UK house price rises accelerate, says Nationwide
Kevin Peachey BBC (No paywall)UK house prices accelerated in August, the Nationwide has said, with values now 13% higher than before the pandemic. The building society said that annual house price growth sped up, to 11%, with the average home costing £248,857. It said property prices recorded their second largest month-on-month rise in 15 years, up by 2.1%. The Nationwide said the increase was "surprising", given that the benefit from stamp duty holidays was reduced. At the end of June, stamp duty holidays became less generous in parts of the UK. Many thousands of deals were rushed through to beat the deadline. The tax breaks led to significant movement at the top end of the market. ... However, a recent report by the Resolution Foundation think tank suggested that it was "wide of the mark" to suggest the stamp duty holidays were the key driver for rising prices. It said that pandemic-related factors such as low interest rates and changing home preferences would continue to push up prices.
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Engineer investigated over Sydney apartment 'structural issues' in NSW first
Amy Greenbank and Josh Bavas ABC (No paywall)An engineer overseeing the construction of a major urban hub being built in Sydney is under investigation over "structural issues" in a previous project. Engineers Australia, the industry's peak professional body, is probing Anthony Hasham after receiving a complaint from NSW building commissioner David Chandler in May. It's the first time NSW's construction watchdog — which was handed sweeping powers to clean up the building industry last year — has referred an engineer to the organisation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-02/engineer-investigated-ove…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Lockdowns hit property auction clearance rates
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Ongoing lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne have hit property auctions in our two biggest cities, but most experts do not expect to see an end to the prolonged boom any time soon, though price rises are likely to slow. Preliminary figures from researcher CoreLogic show that almost two-thirds of auctions scheduled in Melbourne during the week ending last Sunday were withdrawn, contributing to a clearance rate of a paltry 35 per cent. However, in Sydney, sellers were still out in numbers, albeit with about 12 per cent of planned auctions pulled from the market. The city, nevertheless, produced a strong clearance rate of almost 83 per cent. One likely reason for the big difference in clearance rates is that, in Victoria, in-person inspections are banned during the government’s extended lockdown and can only be conducted remotely. Meanwhile, in New South Wales, private inspections are permitted by appointment but are limited to one real estate agent and one buyer at a time.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/lockdowns-hit-property-au…
# Australia, Privacy and access, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Pandemic has interstate buyers set on Queensland houses as prices continue to soar
Lexy Hamilton-Smioth ABC (No paywall)Single dad Teifi Caron has been hunting for a house in Brisbane's inner west for five months, but keeps being outbid by desperate buyers. ... [Core Logic's head of research Eliza Owen said:] "The market is being driven by perpetually low mortgage rates, relatively low levels of stock, and the fact that the state is free from lockdowns."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-01/qld-property-prices-soar-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Adelaide house prices soaring as buyers look to move from COVID-hit Sydney and Melbourne
Eric Tlozek ABC (No paywall)Adelaide's house prices are continuing to hit record levels, new figures show, with fewer homes for sale and outside investors helping drive growth.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-01/record-adelaide-house-pri…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Media release: action needed as renters living in “tin shacks” - 75 organisations urge state/territory governments to adopt minimum standards tokeep renters healthy and safe
(No paywall)Seventy-five organisations from across Australia have written to state and territory Cabinet Ministers calling for minimum standards for rental properties to safeguard the health of renters and protect them from the impacts of climate change. The open letter was signed by community, faith, environment, housing, industry, and social sector organisations, including CHOICE, Healthy Futures, People with Disability Australia, Stiebel Eltron, and the United Workers Union. It comes after the IPCC issued its most dire warning about the impacts of climate change on public health. (Healthy Homes for Renters)
https://www.healthyhomes.org.au/news/open-letter-minimum-standar…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Climate change, Federal Government, Health, Housing market, State Government.CDC eviction ban ended by Supreme Court: 4 questions about its impact answered by a housing law expert
Katy Ramsey Mason The Conversation (No paywall)The Supreme Court on Aug. 26, 2021, ended the Biden administration’s ban on evictions, putting millions at risk of losing their homes. The ruling, by a divided court, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority in continuing a moratorium on evictions after Congress failed to pass new legislation. We asked legal scholar Katy Ramsey Mason to explain what the ruling means, who will be affected and what happens next.
https://theconversation.com/cdc-eviction-ban-ended-by-supreme-co…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, International, Landlords and agents.