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
The Sydney suburbs where house prices have risen and fallen the most
Tawar Razaghi and Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)House prices in outer Sydney suburbs are holding up the best in the city’s property downturn, new data reveals. Meanwhile, just a handful of suburbs in some premium and inner Sydney pockets recorded house price falls over the year to September as the rest of the city escaped annual price falls.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-ho…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.‘A slap in the face’: NSW state housing push set to clip Kiama’s green hills
John Ellicott The Guardian (No paywall)A portion of the famous rolling green hills near Kiama, on the New South Wales south coast, is under threat from a housing development, after the state government overrode Kiama municipal council zoning to allow a 440-house development. The South Kiama project is part of a push by the Perrottet government to ease housing pressures, but the Kiama mayor, Neil Reilly, said viable alternative sites on non-rural land were ignored, including an old quarry at nearby Bombo and vacant land within Kiama’s town boundaries.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/28/a-slap-in…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, Regional NSW.Want to save up to $380,000 on your home purchase cost? Here’s how
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Labor came to power having pledged a radical ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, under which the federal government would help low-to-middle income buyers by essentially co-purchasing up to a maximum of 40 per cent of a new home and up to 30 per cent of the purchase of an existing dwelling. The policy seems to have been forgotten by most people, including, perhaps, Labor which included $325 million for the scheme in this week’s budget, but provided no new details on the policy ... But if you are someone who has completely given up on the idea of homeownership because you think you will never be able to afford it, it’s definitely something worth getting your head around and keeping your eye on. So, how does it work?
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/want-to-save-up-to-380-00…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership.EU citizens’ housing ‘at risk’ as new Home Office digital ID leaves them unable to prove status to landlords
Lucie Heath (No paywall)EU nationals living in the UK say their ability to find housing or employment is being hampered by a new digital ID system introduced by the Home Office. Some say they have experienced technical glitches with the system, which sees EU nationals given a digital share code to prove their immigration status – rather than a physical card, that has left them unable to prove their status when trying to rent a property or find work. EU nationals who have obtained a right to live in the UK via the post-Brexit settlement scheme are only able to prove their rights and entitlements in this country via the Home Office’s “view and prove” online system. But the3million, a charity that supports EU Citizens living in the UK, told i they are contacted “every week” by people who are unable to access the system and are therefore unable to prove their status to potential landlord or employers. (inews)
https://inews.co.uk/news/eu-citizens-housing-at-risk-as-new-home…
# International, Rent, International, Landlords and agents.Housing affordability crisis continues as strong demand pushes up Adelaide rents
Ethan Rix ABC (No paywall)Adelaide rents rose 12 per cent in the year to September — the city's biggest rent hike on record — according to the latest PropTrack report, published by the company behind realestate.com.au. SA's Housing Minister Nick Champion said the state has an "extraordinarily tight rental market" and asked landlords to have "consideration for their tenants at this time".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-30/rental-crisis-continues-i…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Affordability shifts for home buyers as Australia’s median house price falls at its fastest rate on record
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)House prices have slumped over the past quarter with the biggest falls on record in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, leaving prices across all the capitals around $53,000 lower than they were in March this year. The drops have been so dramatic, according to the latest Domain House Price Report, that house prices in three cities have now even been dragged below what they were this time last year, with Darwin 4.4 per cent down, Sydney 2.8 per cent lower and Melbourne 2 per cent under.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/affordability-shifts-for-home-buy…
# Australia, Housing market.What property slump? Developers get ready for next apartment boom
Simon Johanson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Developers are gearing up for a flood of new migrants they think will underpin another apartment boom as rental vacancies dry up and inner-city rents surge. Reserve Bank internal research suggests property prices may plunge as much as 20 per cent following its latest series of interest rate rises, but some contrarian developers are banking on the opposite and buying large sites to build on.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/what-property-slump-de…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Ice on the walls: Some farmworkers are getting a rotten housing deal
Gerhard Uys (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Some farmworkers are getting a rotten deal when they sign a tenancy agreement. A dairy farm manager’s wife, who Stuff has agreed not to name for fear of reprisal, said her entire family became ill on a Taranaki farm as agriculture chemicals leaked into an open mouth well that supplied drinking water to the home they lived in as part of a tenancy agreement. The farm owner said he did not have money to address the issue, she said. ... Compliance with healthy home standards was being phased in over a number of years, but since July last year all private rental properties had to comply within 90 days of any new, or renewed tenancy. Landlords must also include a statement of their current level of compliance with the healthy homes standards in all new, or renewed tenancy agreement. All rental homes must comply with the healthy homes standards by July 1, 2024. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/130280473/ice-on-the-wa…
# International, Rent, Health, Minimum habitability standards.