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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
Council rates hikes to impact millions in NSW as inflation rises
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Most NSW councils will have their rate rises pegged at 3.7 per cent next financial year after a decision by the regulator made councils in fast-growing areas able to increase levies up to 6.8 per cent. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) sets the so-called “rate peg”, the maximum annual increase councils can charge ratepayers. The tribunal does, however, allow councils to request the ability to levy businesses or households with higher rates than the overall peg.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/council-rates-hike-for-milli…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Tax.Where to find Sydney’s best and worst property prices
Kate Burke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Rapidly rising interest rates have taken a toll on Sydney’s housing market, and while some suburbs have been harder hit than others, new data shows none have been spared. Sydney’s median house value dropped 9.7 per cent from the end of April to the end of September, CoreLogic figures show, and even more affordable suburbs - where prices have held up better - recorded falls.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/where-to-find-sydney-s-best…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.Why I'd be happy to see more ghost homes
Dileepa Fonseka (No paywall)Ghost homes satisfy all the right criteria when it comes to scapegoats for the housing crisis.
The first criterion is that the target of blame must be someone who is not you, this generally rules out most of the main causes of the crisis. The people to blame for the crisis are those who oppose more housing in their backyards and buyers who cash-in on low interest rates by piling into the housing market all at once – in other words, most of us. The second criteria for a scapegoat must be that they are doing something that really, really annoys you. This is why “ghost homes” – the colloquial name for unoccupied homes – are a popular target of blame for the housing crisis, just like Asian migrants and foreign investors once were before them.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/130067012/dile…
# International, Housing affordability, Housing market.Rising rates mean homebuyers ‘can’t go to the edge’
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Home buyers have become more wary of borrowing the maximum amount they qualify for, mortgage brokers say, as the fear of further interest rate rises weighs on their future financial decisions. During last year’s property boom, some families and first time buyers were borrowing to their maximum and then asking for help from the Bank of Mum and Dad, but attitudes had changed this year as repayments rise.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/rising-rates-mean-homebuyer…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.Official Statistics English Private Landlord Survey 2021
Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (No paywall)The English Private Landlord Survey (EPLS) is a national survey of landlords and letting agents who own and/or manage privately rented properties in England. It was commissioned by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). ... The private rented sector is characterised by diversity and looks very different now than it did more than a decade ago. The number of households in the sector rose by 45% between 2008-09 and 2020-21, from 3.1 million to 4.4 million households. The private rented sector is now the second largest tenure in England, and is home to 19% of all households, compared to 14% in 2008-09, when it was smaller than the social rented sector. [Read on] (Published by International Union of Tenants)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/official-statistics-english-priva…
# International, Rent, Landlords and agents.RBA Cash Rate: What is Australia’s current interest rate?
(No paywall)Australia’s official cash rate is determined by the Reserve Bank of Australia in a board meeting every month (excluding January). The RBA’s cash rate is the rate that’s charged on loans between financial institutions (like banks). It has a significant impact on the price of financial products you purchase. (rent.com.au)
# Australia, Housing market.Young Australians are furious at the Reserve Bank. They have every right to be
Osman Faruqi The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)[These videos] reflect growing anger and confusion among younger Australians about the RBA’s strategy under Lowe. Firstly, there’s the deep frustration about being locked out of a housing market turbocharged by near-zero interest rates. Many have given up hunting after watching prices rocket over the past two years. What good are record-low interest rates if you can’t get into the market? Next, there is a feeling of betrayal among those who managed to buy a house in the past couple of years, taking Lowe at his word that the RBA wouldn’t lift rates until 2024, only to be stung by the most rapid rises in years.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/as-interest-rates-soar-tiktokers…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.How much extra could mortgage repayments cost now the cash rate is 2.6 per cent?
ABC (No paywall)The Reserve Bank of Australia has increased the cash rate by 0.25 of a percentage point. That means the cash rate is now 2.6 per cent. It is the sixth month in a row the RBA has lifted its cash rate target, but the first time since the first move in May that rates have risen less than 0.5 of a percentage point. If you're on a variable rate, your repayments will probably increase too. This repayments calculator shows how much extra you may have to pay each month. Plug in your current loan size, term and interest rate to see the difference.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-04/mortgage-rate-rise-calcul…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.