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
Rental vacancy rates back at pre-pandemic levels: Domain data
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Australia’s rental vacancy rate is back at pre-pandemic levels, new data shows, but up to one in 10 rental homes are still sitting empty in some pockets. Vacancy rates dropped in both Sydney and Melbourne over April to 2.9 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively, as more tenants returned to the inner-city markets where rental demand and asking prices were hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The proportion of homes left vacant held steady at 1.4 per cent in Brisbane, Domain data shows, with fewer than one in 100 rental homes left vacant across the other capital cities – where rates either held steady or lifted marginally month on month.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/rental-vacancy-rates-back-at-pre-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Ghana’s new rental scheme won’t fix the real problem: a housing shortage
Nicky Morrison, Emmanuel Kofi Gavu and others The Conversation (No paywall)Ghana’s government has announced a loan scheme to help tenants pay the hefty advance rent (often covering two years) to private landlords. Advance rent is also prevalent in several other African countries.
https://theconversation.com/ghanas-new-rental-scheme-wont-fix-th…
# International, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market.Comprehensive reform overdue for Australia’s underfunded aged care sector, Anthony Albanese says
Sarah Martin The Guardian (No paywall)The Labor leader Anthony Albanese will use a major pre budget speech to pressure the government over aged care funding, while declaring he would be “cautious” about government spending if he was prime minister. In a speech to the McKell Institute on Thursday, Albanese targets the prime minister for failing to adequately fund the overstretched aged care sector, saying “comprehensive reform” is overdue.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/06/comprehen…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.Rogue Richmond landlords hit with fines for mouldy leaking flats
Sian Bayley (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Water damage, a leaking roof, and black mould in cupboards are just some of the issues found in properties run by a rogue private landlord in Richmond. ... This led to the council issuing two financial penalty notices, resulting in a £10,000 fine. (MyLondon)
https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/rogue-richmond-l…
# International, Rent, Repairs, Health, Local Government, Mould.Rental market unusually uncertain, Nationwide says
BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The outlook for the private rental market is "unusually uncertain" after nearly two decades of growth, according to a new report. It suggests the future is clouded by "economic uncertainty" and housing preferences shifting during lockdown.
# International, Rent, Housing market.Real estate prices in Australia are surging. But experts say Seoul's housing market makes Australia's look tame
Carrington Clarke ABC (No paywall)If the rate of Australian home price rises is bringing a tear to your eye, you are unlikely to find much sympathy from South Koreans trying to buy in their country's capital. Seoul's property market is on a tear. Apartment prices in the metropolis of nearly 10 million people rose by an extraordinary 22 per cent in 2020, outstripping all other cities in Asia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-06/real-estate-prices-in-seo…
# International, Housing affordability, Housing market.Australian home values continue to rise, but pace of growth eases: Core Logic research
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Australia’s rapidly rising property prices have started to slow, with new figures showing price growth eased last month after hitting a 32-year high in March.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-home-values-continue-t…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.Hot housing market shows first signs of cooling off
Colin Brinsden The New Daily (No paywall)The rapid rise in house prices in recent months is showing signs of cooling as affordability constraints at a time of stagnant wage growth begins to dampen demand.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/05/03/real-esta…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.