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
Australian House Prices Snap Declines as Sydney Market Surges
Swati Pandey Bloomberg (Paywall)Australian house prices snapped 10 months of declines in March, led by a surge in the bellwether Sydney market in a positive sign for the economy after the central bank’s almost yearlong policy tightening cycle.
Prices in Sydney jumped 1.4%, followed by Melbourne and Perth, resulting in a 0.8% increase for Australia’s major cities, data from property consultancy CoreLogic Inc. showed Monday. Still, Sydney property values have fallen 12.1% over the past year.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-02/sydney-house-…
# Hot topic NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.'I couldn't believe it': Sydney renter left stunned by real estate ad
Emily McPherson 9 News (No paywall)Just days after Sydney IT professional Ankit Mehta was forced to vacate the rental unit he and his wife were living in, he says he was blindsided by a real estate advertisement that left him stunned and angry.
With a nationwide rental squeeze deepening, Mehta and his wife were bracing for a hike to their rent when their yearly lease came to an end last month.
So, when they were told the weekly rent on their one-bedroom unit - in the north-west suburb of Epping - was going up by $75 to $500, they decided to cop it on the chin.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-rental-crisis-rent-hike…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent, Housing market.Rental crisis: Aussies rage at detail in $375-per-week studio listing
James Clarke Yahoo News (No paywall)Aussies are up in arms over a tiny studio recently advertised for rent in the trendy Sydney suburb of Paddington, with many calling the listing exploitative – just the latest in a long list of seemingly subpar rental accommodation to attract negative attention.
Advertised for $375 per week, the now-leased unit features a combined living area and bedroom, which is to be expected of a studio apartment, however in this case a raised bed frame covers almost the entire space.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/rental-crisis-aussies-rage-at-detail-i…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Housing market, Renting culture.Desperate for housing, Sanin is living in a tent with her children. She's angry at 'empty promises'
Finn McHugh SBS (No paywall)Sanin and her five children are among those struggling to secure a property to rent amid Australia's housing crisis. As Labor's affordable homes plan hits headwinds, she fears the situation her and others are facing "isn't going to get better".
The federal government frames its plan to build 30,000 social and affordable homes as significant. The Coalition opposes it. Some crossbenchers argue it will barely make a dent.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/desperate-for-housing-sanin-…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Affordable housing, Personal stories, State Government.VIDEO: Public housing tenants speak out against evictions for redevelopment
Emily Baker ABC (No paywall)With rents soaring and rental properties scarce across the country, it's no surprise that the most vulnerable tenants are feeling the pinch. According to one study, the number of rental properties affordable to people on low incomes has fallen dramatically over the past two decades.
Now residents of the nation's biggest public housing estate at Waterloo in the heart of Sydney are preparing to move as the sale of the site to private developers looms closer. Emily Baker reports.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/public-housing-tenants-sp…
# Hot topic, Video NSW, Public and community housing, State Government, Strong communities.Animal shelters and pounds report increase in surrendered animals across NSW due to rental squeeze
Laurise Dickson and Keely Johnson ABC (No paywall)For the past two years, Newcastle woman Cynthia has been relentlessly applying for rental properties across New South Wales.
Unable to secure a home, Cynthia and her staffy-cross Storm have been staying at a friend's place.
"It's practically impossible to get housing when you have a dog," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-29/increase-in-surrendered-a…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Personal stories, Pets.Labor inherits dismal housing supply outlook for Sydney and state
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The new Labor government will inherit a shrinking pipeline of new housing across Greater Sydney, with dwelling approvals running more than 15 per cent below the five-year average, threatening to exacerbate the housing and rental affordability crisis gripping the city.
The latest available figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show dwelling approvals in 2022-23 are tracking even lower than the previous financial year - 20,559 at the end of January compared to 22,239 in 2021-22. House and apartment approvals were both down.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/labor-inherits-dismal-housin…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, State Government.'Successful' homelessness service Together Home facing uncertain future after NSW election
Heath Parkes-Hupton ABC (No paywall)The uncertain future of a program credited with helping 1,000 homeless people into secure housing in NSW shows the "tepid" response major parties have to state's housing crisis, advocates say.
Together Home was created by the NSW government in 2020 to help rough-sleepers after they were deemed as being at high-risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-24/homeless-service-together…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Homelessness, Housing affordability, State Government.