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
Regional housing markets around Australia rise amid pandemic: Herron Todd White
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)Pent-up demand from buyers around Australia is prompting rises in regional property markets across the country despite the pandemic recession, a new report has found.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/regional-housing-markets-around-a…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Regional NSW.Home owners end mortgage holidays in droves as economy improves
Matt Johnson The New Daily (No paywall)Nearly 70 per cent of Australians who paused their home loan due to pandemic pressures have resumed repayments as banks encourage customers to assess their options. But the Australian Banking Association has warned a “time of reckoning” lies ahead, with many remaining deferrers only hanging on because of elevated levels of government support.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2020/11/18/mortgage-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership.Victoria’s massive social housing spend is a win for sustainability
Roxanne Fitzgerald The Fifth Estate (No paywall)This week the Victorian Government unveiled a “big housing build” plan set to “transform the social housing system”, finally heeding calls from the housing sector to address the sharp rise in cost of living pressures and energy affordability.
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/victo…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing.Victoria’s $5.4bn Big Housing Build: it is big, but the social housing challenge is even bigger
Katrina Raynor The Conversation (No paywall)The Victorian government has announced the big social housing investment for which housing advocates, industry groups, academics and social service providers have been clamouring for decades. The A$5.4 billion “Big Housing Build” aims to create over 12,000 homes in four years. Of these, 9,300 will be social housing. The rest will be affordable or market-rate housing. The program will replace 1,100 old public housing units.
https://theconversation.com/victorias-5-4bn-big-housing-build-it…
# Must read, New policy announcement Australia, Public and community housing.Social media property spruiker investigated over advice to “buy without a bank”
Richard Baker The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A property spruiker who charges clients $10,000 to learn how to "buy without a bank" and become a "millionaire property investor" has been reported to authorities in Australia and New Zealand after clients complained they had been duped. Tasmania-based Deanne de Leeuw owns and operates The Creative Property Academy, Positive Cashflow Investment and Buy Without a Bank, which she promotes through Facebook and YouTube.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/property-spruik…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.Renters in Sunshine Coast struggling as demand soars for properties leaving vulnerable tenants out.
Amy Sheehan ABC (No paywall)A Sunshine Coast property management firm says people looking for rentals in the region are getting desperate, with up to 70 people registering their interest when a new property comes onto the market.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-18/sunshine-coast-rental-dem…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Regional NSW.Rental conditions study: Australian tenants expose defects in homes, Victoria awaits minimum standards
Samantha Landy (No paywall)Tenants are exposing the shoddy conditions of rentals across the nation via a ground breaking university study, as key legislation designed to prevent the listing of “complete dumps” in Victoria has been held back by COVID-19. (Realestate.com.au)
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/rental-conditions-study-austr…
# Australia, Repairs, Coronavirus COVID-19, Minimum habitability standards.COVID-19 and Australian renters
AHURI Research Webinar Series AHURI (No paywall)Join the webinar on Friday 27 November at 12 noon
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/events/ahuri-research-webinars/webinar-…
# Video Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.