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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
Albany house fire leaves family homeless as dad braves flames to save daughters
Briana Fiore and Eliza Borrello ABC (Paywall)A West Australian family has become homeless again after a fire destroyed their rental overnight, with two young children and three pet dogs saved by the parents' quick-thinking.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-29/albany-house-fire-family-…
# Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Personal stories.Newcastle’s housing crisis in spotlight amid row over emergency accommodation
Mostafa Rachwani The Guardian (No paywall)Advocacy groups have criticised the New South Wales government for rejecting a proposal to use former disability housing for emergency homeless accommodation amid a housing crisis in Newcastle. ... Nicole Grgas, the coordinator of the Hunter Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service, said the centres could have at least been used temporarily. “We could at least in the meantime use this as even temporary accommodation for families or single people,” she said. “Because we don’t have a lot of options for people at the moment.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/15/newcastle…
# NSW, Homelessness, Regional NSW, State Government.Queensland government shelves controversial land tax changes as treasurer defends policy
Rachel Riga ABC (No paywall)The Queensland government has shelved changes to land tax after the premier met with interstate leaders — but Treasurer Cameron Dick has continued to defend the policy. The proposed changes, which were slated to come into effect next year, would have meant some people with properties in Queensland and interstate would have paid more tax on their land. The amendments to the tax had already been legislated, which means they will now be deferred in Parliament. The decision comes after opposition from other state and territory governments and the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), which labelled the plan "illogical". Earlier this week, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said his government would refuse to supply data to Queensland to help implement the tax. Also, read Matt Dennien's article entitled: 'Queensland shunts land tax change, but treasurer "stands by everything he’s said"’ at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/queensland-shunts-land-tax-change-but-treasurer-stands-by-everything-he-s-said-20220930-p5bm7s.html] Read the article by Toby Crockford and Matt Dennien entitled 'Premier didn’t tell Treasurer about land tax U-turn before going public' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/premier-didn-t-tell-treasurer-about-land-tax-u-turn-before-going-public-20221001-p5bmh5.html]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-30/queensland-land-tax-gover…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government, Tax.Regional NSW towns where first home buyers can purchase for less than $750,000
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)More first home buyers across regional NSW will be able to get into the property market sooner and with a smaller deposit, as a new government assistance scheme rolls out from today. But with first home buyer activity at its lowest level in years, as rapidly rising interest rates curb buyers’ borrowing power and lift mortgage repayments, industry figures do not expect a rush to buy. Ten thousand regional first home buyers nationally will be able to purchase with a low 5 per cent deposit each year, under a new scheme introduced amid a rental crisis and falling sales prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/regional-nsw-towns-where-fi…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.What $1m buys you: house hunting in today’s uncertain property market
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)The heat may be coming out of the housing market but prices across most regions remain at least 15% above pre-pandemic levels. The average price for a house across Australian capital cities is $1,192,586 – a 6.4% increase on the past 12 months, while the average unit price is $605,837 – a 4.2% increase.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/02/what-1m-b…
# Australia, Housing market.More homes selling at a loss as rising interest rates push down property prices
The Guardian (No paywall)The number of home sellers making a profit has subsided as the property market continues its downwards trend. Loss-making sales grew the fastest in Melbourne and Sydney, according to CoreLogic data, reflecting the sharper downturns in the major cities. There was a 6.4% increase in homes sold at a loss in Sydney in the June quarter and a 5.3% increase in Melbourne. Home values in the two cities have fallen by 2.8% and 1.8%, respectively, during the same period.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/30/more-home…
# Australia, Housing market.National Trust says Central Station tower plans ‘make a mockery’ of heritage
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The National Trust is opposing plans to demolish part of a historic postal building near Sydney’s Central Station to erect a 45-storey hotel and office tower, arguing it would make a mockery of the state’s heritage protections. The trust has objected in the “strongest possible terms” to developer TOGA Group’s $383 million plan to build above the former Parcels Post building, citing the “irreversible detrimental impact” on the old brick structure.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/national-trust-says-central-…
# NSW, Heritage listings, Planning and development, Sydney.Renting to the highest bidder: calls for federal laws to ban practice amid Australia’s cost-of-living crisis
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)Peak housing bodies are calling for nationally consistent rental laws to crack down on bidding wars putting pressure on tenants in a shrinking market. Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania have introduced reforms to ban rent bidding – the process of negotiating the price of a rental by advertising a property within a “range” or without a fixed cost. But in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and South Australia, there is no legislation against the practice. ... National Shelter chief executive, Emma Greenhalgh, said encouraging bidding was effectively putting rental properties up for auction in a desperate market. She has been lobbying the federal government for the adoption of a national legislative framework on renting. ... Tenants’ Union of NSW chief executive, Leo Patterson Ross, said a rent auction wasn’t a way of determining accurate market value when prospective tenants were under extreme stress. ... “Someone who is desperate and scared of being made homeless is an anxious person. The rent they’re willing to pay is not a fair market value when it’s inflated,” Patterson Ross said.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/01/renting-t…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing market, State Government.