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
‘No apologies’: Govt buys 85 beach cabins for social housing
Sophie Foster realestate.com.au (No paywall)The Queensland government has tapped into its $1bn Housing Investment Fund to buy and convert 85 beach cabins into social and affordable housing for struggling families. Housing minister Meaghan Scanlon said the Miles Government helped purchase Barney Beach Accommodation in Gladstone for long-term housing needs – part of a plan to deliver one million more homes including 53,500 for social housing needs.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/no-apologies-govt-buys-85-bea…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.For most young Australians, the dream of owning a home has moved into the realm of fantasy
Rebecca Huntley The Guardian (No paywall)Home ownership has always been deeply embedded in the Australian psyche. For decades, it has been considered the ultimate emblem of financial and personal security and independence. Today, however, the housing market has become a subject of dread for young Australians. They’ve watched housing prices and rents boom at a time when wages have been flat and there are no signs of respite. This is a bit more serious than an unjustified lament from the so-called “smashed Avocado” generation.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/24/yo…
# Hot topic Australia, .NSW to trial prefabricated ‘modular homes’ to address housing crisis
The Guardian (No paywall)Pre-built modular homes will be trialled in New South Wales to boost social housing, as research shows new-home construction targets will not be met. Sites in Wollongong and Lake Macquarie have been selected to trial modular social homes under a state government trial to speed up the delivery of new homes. The government is still working through regulatory barriers for modular housing, which has not been rolled out at scale before.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jul/22/n…
# Must read NSW, Public and community housing.You Can Rent A Claustrophobic Nightmare In Sydney For Just $250 A Week So Things Are Looking Up
Rachel Choy Pedestrian (No paywall)We’re officially in the darkest timeline. A hotel has just advertised a place for rent in Sydney that seems like a dream – $250 a week for your own space, with “cost-effective living” in the heart of the city. The only catch? It’s a CAPSULE. The rental listing on Domain is honestly horrific, with the marketing manager spinning a windowless, claustrophobic nightmare as “private, tech-savvy and secure”.
For the low price of $1086 per month, you also have access to “air ventilation” in your c̶o̶f̶f̶i̶n̶ capsule, and you have the pleasure of sharing a kitchen and bathroom with hostel guests.
https://www.pedestrian.tv/home/sydney-rental-crisis-capsule/?fbc…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.We tracked down the owners of empty Sydney homes to try and find out why they've been left vacant
Amy Greenbank ABC (No paywall)Every suburb has one. A home that's been left empty for years, perhaps decades. Walking past, you might peer in the windows and wonder why. There's estimated to be up to 140,000 "inactive" or vacant homes in Australia, according to experimental data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The highest proportion are in NSW, particularly Greater Sydney. So, we narrowed our search to nearly a dozen Sydney 'ghost homes', selected at random, to investigate.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-22/sydney-ghost-homes-vacant…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, .Housing in Sydney won't become affordable until at least the 2030s
Daniel Jeffrey 9 News (No paywall)Housing affordability in Sydney is dire and buying a home is going to remain out of reach for much of the population until at least the 2030s. That's according to a new study from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) which looks at the relationship between housing affordability and employment contracts. It found that not only is the rising proportion of part-time workers completely priced out of the city's property market, but full-time earners are facing increasing financial hurdles standing in the way of home ownership.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/housing-crisis-australia-sydne…
# Must read NSW, Rent.The Sydney suburbs where landlords haven’t been able to raise the rent
Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)A handful of Sydney’s most coveted lifestyle and premium locations recorded cheaper house rents than a year ago, new data shows. Experts said while rental conditions remain tight, with Sydney house rents holding steady at a record $750 a week, tenants even in the top end of town were feeling the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. There were only 20 Sydney suburbs that recorded house rent declines in the year to June, Domain data shows – bucking the trend of widespread rises – but almost all had a median weekly asking rent of $1100 or higher.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-la…
# Research alert NSW, Rent.Group hit hardest by the rental crisis
Clareese Packer Yahoo News (No paywall)Overcrowding could be on the rise again as experts warn international students may be particularly vulnerable to Australia’s “tough” rental market. Renters remain in the deep end, particularly in Sydney, with the national median rent sitting at $600 per week, according to latest figures from PropTrack. Rental prices have increased by 9 per cent over the past year, while the number of properties available for rent is down 4.4 per cent from last year and 25 per cent lower than the five-year June average.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/group-hit-hardest-rental-crisi…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.