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
Sydney house prices surge almost $1100 a day, but the market may have peaked
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney house prices have hit a record median of $1.6 million, new figures show, after climbing almost $1100 a day in 2021. Greater Sydney house prices skyrocketed by 33.1 per cent – almost $400,000 – last year, climbing 6 per cent in the final quarter alone to a median of $1,601,467, Domain’s Quarterly House Price Report reveals. It’s the steepest annual increase since Domain records began in 1993, with house prices in half a dozen regions rising more than $500,000. Unit price growth was more subdued but still rose 8.3 per cent annually – and a marginal 0.9 per cent last quarter – to a record high of $802,255.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/sydney-house-prices-surge-a…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market.Starting a house hunt? Beware the ‘wounded under-bidder’
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Potential property buyers who missed out in 2021 are approaching this year’s market with renewed determination, wary that December’s price slowdown might reverse once the new year begins in earnest ...
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/starting-a-house-hunt-bewar…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.SA councils complain $27m e-planning system is not delivering promised savings
Declan Gooch ABC (No paywall)South Australian councils are complaining that a new planning system hailed as the "single biggest reform" to planning in state history is costing them time and money. The e-planning system was rolled out over two years to all councils and centralises all stages of the development application process. The $27 million online portal was designed to make it easier for applicants and assessors to manage applications as they move through the process. But the president of SA's Local Government Association, Angela Evans, said 98 per cent of the councils it surveyed reported ongoing costs or resourcing burdens associated with the new system.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/e-planning-system-south-a…
# Australia, Local Government, Planning and development.Property sales to foreigners down as new type of buyer emerges
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)The number of foreign buyers snapping up Australian property has taken a significant hit, new figures show, but those that are buying here are much more likely to stay for the long term.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/property-sales-to-foreigner…
# Australia, Housing market.Why fear of missing out in the property market should ease this year
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Aspiring Sydney property buyers are set to have more choice this year as sellers try to take advantage of favourable conditions, resulting in an expected glut of listings. At the end of last year, Sydney recorded the highest number of new homes on the market since 2015, CoreLogic data shows.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/why-fear-of-missing-out-in-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.Auction market off to early start as listings spike
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Australia’s auction market got off to a busier start than usual, with more sellers hitting the market over the traditionally quieter summer holiday period in a bid to get ahead of the competition before an increase in listings gives buyers more choice.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/auction-market-off-to-early…
# Australia, Housing market.With house prices through the roof, is it time for Plan B?
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Units are poised to pick up in popularity, as last year’s runaway house price growth is tipped to force buyers into more affordable properties and some investors jump back into the market.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/with-house-prices-through-t…
# Australia, Strata, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Inner West rents rise as prices across Sydney record steep increase
Daniel Lo Surdo (No paywall)House rents across Sydney increased by over $20 in the final quarter of 2021, according to a new report confirming the steepest annual increase since 2009. Data from Domain’s December 2021 rental report has revealed that house rents in Sydney jumped a record 9.1 per cent last year, hitting a record high of $600 a week. This increase was also felt in the Inner West (though not as strongly), with annual house rents in the area rising by only 2.7 per cent since the end of 2020. A select few suburbs experienced a more significant increase, with rents in Balmain East and Haberfield jumping by 11.7 and 12.2 per cent respectively. Unit rents also saw an increase, albeit by only one per cent, marking the first annual increase for units in almost four years. The report noted that although rents are rising, the pace of quarterly growth had eased for both houses and units. ... While speaking to City Hub in June, Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, expressed doubts of the sustainability of a perceived shift in the market, saying that landlords were not offering tenants better maintenance, “longer leases [or] pets by default” in their agreements, adding that “people were being offered basically the same deal, just a little bit less expensive”. (City Hub)
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2022/01/inner-west-rents-rise-as-pr…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Housing market.