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
Housing affordability: Record house prices reignite worries for home buyers
Elizabeth Redman and Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)A stunning rise in house prices has reignited worries about housing affordability, with experts warning workers on moderate incomes will find it harder to reach home ownership than ever. ... “For essential workers and aspiring first-home buyers, the hurdles are harder than ever,” University of Sydney urban planner Professor Nicole Gurran said.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/housing-affordability-record-hous…
# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Home ownership.Austin May Use Money Cut From Police Budget To Buy Permanent Supportive Housing
Meg O'Connor (No paywall)From the United States ... [Austin] City Council will decide whether to buy two hotels and use funds diverted from its police budget to set up wraparound services for the homeless people who will live there. (The Appeal)
https://theappeal.org/austin-police-budget-homeless-housing/
# Hot topic International, Homelessness, Local Government.Renters in England set to be allowed to keep 'well-behaved pets'
BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... People living in rented homes in England could automatically be allowed to keep "well-behaved" pets under new measures announced by the government. Housing Minister Chris Pincher said the new "model tenancy agreement" will stop landlords banning all animals. It is not legally binding, but ministers hope landlords will adopt it. You can also read this story at: [https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/government-changes-model-tenancy-agreement-to-allow-pets-69351]
# Hot topic International, Rent.Housing experts fear mass evictions across the North once coronavirus pandemic ends
Jonathan Walker (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Housing experts in the North fear there will be a wave of evictions once the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end. Private landlords have been barred from evicting tenants during the pandemic, but the Northern Housing Consortium has predicted "an upsurge in evictions will begin once the Governments temporary measures have ceased". And it warned "illegal evictions and targeted harassment of tenants" is taking place now, as landlords try to get round the current rules. And Iain Malcolm, former leader of South Tyneside Council, said housing officers "have very real concerns about a potential spike in evictions due to rent arrears" once the current restrictions end.(ChronicleLive)
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/housing-exp…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Record price difference opens between Sydney houses and units
Matt Wade and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A record price gap has opened between Sydney’s detached houses and units after the median price of a standalone residence in the city surged by $4200 a week during the last three months of 2020. The median price for a separate house in Sydney reached a record $1.21 million in the December quarter and is 66 per cent higher than the median unit price, Domain Group data shows. That is the biggest difference between houses and units in Sydney since Domain began tracking prices in 1993. The average price gap over the past decade has been 46 per cent.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/record-price-differe…
# NSW, Housing market.Australian property market sails through Covid storm as workers reinvent life
Martin Farrer The Guardian (No paywall)Australian property prices are set to rise to record highs this year, driven by a heady cocktail of people seeking a post-Covid lifestyle change, ultra-low interest rates and recession-beating government stimulus, a slew of new data shows.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/30/australia…
# Australia, Housing market.Prospect of a six figure hike in Sydney house prices stokes affordability worries
Matt Wade and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The value of a typical detached house in Sydney will rise by another $120,000 by the middle of this year if price gains of the December quarter are repeated in the first half of 2021, reigniting worries about home affordability in the city. ... University of NSW Professor Hal Pawson warned the next six months would be a challenge for lower-income workers, particularly as the federal government’s wage subsidy scheme JobKeeper ends in March.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/prospect-of-a-six-fi…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market.Fremantle ‘tent city’ homeless sleep in a park despite promise of beds
Marta Pascual Juanola The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Last week was filled with unbelievable scenes as the government took extraordinary measures to dismantle a controversial homeless camp in Fremantle, amid claims it was run by professional protesters and beds were available to rough sleepers who wanted help.
Meanwhile, the state government has only added 24 social housing properties in total to its stock in the past year and estimates only 47 more will be added in the next four years while 24,000 people sit on the waitlist. WAtoday sat with one of those rough sleepers this week as she searched for emergency shelter and was knocked back by every single provider, with one claiming they had been booked out for weeks.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/fremantle-tent…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing, Homelessness.