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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
Why house prices fell so fast, and when the falls could stop
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)The power of rising interest rates to push down house prices has been laid bare in a new graph that shows property values fell within weeks of the first hike to hit Australia in a decade. Property values were still rising across the combined capital cities in the first months of this year, CoreLogic’s daily home value index showed, albeit at a modest pace as the pandemic property boom petered out.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/why-house-prices-fell-so-fa…
# Australia, Housing market.The Sydney suburbs where house prices have doubled over the past decade
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)House values are at least double what they were a decade ago in more than 60 per cent of Sydney suburbs, despite the recent property downturn. But experts say such growth is unlikely to be repeated in the decade to come, and warn buyers not to pin their hopes on misguided suggestions that property prices typically double every 10 years.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-ho…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.House price growth has far surpassed apartments in recent years. Could the gap narrow?
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)House prices rose much faster than apartment prices during the most recent property boom, but that trend is unlikely to be repeated after the current downturn ends, economists said. Sydney house prices soared 54 per cent in the three years to March 2022, while units rose only 15 per cent, Domain figures show.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/house-price-growth-has-far-…
# Australia, Strata, Housing affordability, Housing market.Citizens' Assemblies and renting policy: an avenue for fair rental reform?
Riley Brooke and Robert Mowbray Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Citizens' Assemblies are being increasingly explored in other jurisdictions as an avenue to achieve fair and sensible legislative reform across a wide range of issues - including renting. But what are they, and how could they be applied to improve renting here in NSW? Let’s start by looking at how the majority of decisions around renting policy are made right now, and what some of the problems there are with that. ... Up to 48% of MPs across the political spectrum are landlords of residential premises, a proportion far in excess of the proportion in the general community. ... At the Federal level, the numbers are even more stark. A 2021 'Sydney Morning Herald' article reports 57% of the members of then Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet owned at least one investment property. ... Daniel Bruce, chief executive of Transparency International UK, [states]: ' ... With parliamentarians far more likely to own second homes than the general population, it’s reasonable to question how representative their experience is of the housing crisis and whether this has some bearing on the political appetite for change.” ... Citizens’ Assemblies bring a mix of people together by democratic lottery and give them all the tools, information and time to properly have a say on the important issues that affect our everyday lives. ... The solutions devised by Citizens' Assemblies can help politicians make decisions that are in the best interests of the general population and that everyone can trust.
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/citizens-assemblies-and-renting-…
# NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Housing affordability, State Government.Crikey’s Landlord List: how many politicians own multiple homes?
Cam Wilson (No paywall)Housing is one of the biggest issues facing Australians right now, and politicians say they’re listening. Home ownership has been in decline for decades, and has fallen significantly for groups such as younger households and those on lower incomes. Solutions offered by the parties have focused on figuring out ways to help people pour more money into the housing market rather than addressing what’s making housing more expensive. It’s hard not to notice that Parliament looks very different from the electorate when it comes to home ownership. In 2021, two-thirds of households were inhabited by their owners. In the 47th Parliament, there are 510 properties owned by 227 federal members of Parliament (MPs). That’s an average of 2.25 properties per MP. Multiple home ownership is overrepresented in federal Parliament; 144 MPs own more than one property. In fact, more MPs own three or more properties (84) than those who own one property or fewer (83). Many MPs own a second home in Canberra, investment properties and holiday homes. ... Check out Crikey's list of members of the 47th Parliament and how many properties they own at: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vS0EsYHkN6aBKfSNkf-WLWXfokO1nVXJQbiCygHt3m-CF9k7Vcaw5FRFm-eQV7MS8YF5SqRtHUVwCfv/pubhtml?gid=467874329&single=true] (Crikey)
https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/09/07/politicians-houses-list-how…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Photoshop and unfeasible prices: how real estate agents sell houses
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (Paywall)Many potential homebuyers have told Guardian Australia that advertisements for their dream homes – from the photos to the price – have been inaccurate and real estate bodies are sounding the alarm about an industry they say is poorly regulated. Reporter Caitlin Cassidy speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the tactics real estate agents use to sell homes – tactics some have described as a ‘fraud on purchasers’. Also, watch Carly Earl's video entitled: 'How real estate photography tricks you' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2022/sep/11/how-real-estate-photography-tricks-you-video]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2022/sep/12/pho…
# Audio, Video Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.‘The scariest thing is insecurity’: Australia’s renters over 50 fear uncertain future, report shows
Stephanie Convery The Guardian (No paywall)Nearly three-quarters of renters over 50 fear an expensive and unstable future with spiralling housing costs resulting in insecurity, according to a new report by one of Australia’s largest charities. Anglicare Australia recently polled 500 over-50s about their housing circumstances, hopes and fears. The subsequent report, Ageing in Place: Home and Housing for Australia’s Older Renters, released on Tuesday, revealed housing costs are the biggest barrier to older renters staying settled in the same place as they age. ... Wendy Morris, 75, who lives in “a tiny rented granny flat in the Perth Hills” that she found through Gumtree, said the private rental system was broken. ... “The scariest thing is insecurity and unaffordability, particularly for older women … It uproots you from your community. It’s also very expensive to shift. It’s the financial stress, and the mental health issues that come along with that.” Also, listen to: 'Older Australians caught in pincer grip of rising rents' on ABC Newsradio at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-13/older-australians-caught-in-pincer-grip-of-rising/14052064]. You will find a link to Anglicare Australia's report on their media release at: https://www.anglicare.asn.au/2022/09/12/anglicare-australia-calls-for-action-to-help-renters-age-at-home/
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/13/the-scari…
# Must read, Audio Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people, Women.The Guardian view on rent capping: a step in the right direction
Editorial The Guardian (No paywall)Rent rises for social housing tenants in England are to be capped for either one year or two, following a consultation. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has announced plans for a rent freeze for private as well as social tenants, and a ban on evictions over the winter. With plans for longer-term rent controls already promised by the Scottish government, as part of the SNP’s agreement with the Scottish Greens, these new measures are – like the Conservative plan for England – a response to an escalating cost of living and poverty crisis. That Scottish ministers are prepared to go so much further ought to worry Liz Truss, and prompt her to do more. The UK’s housing market is broken, and private renters as well as social ones need help.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/11/the-guardi…
# International, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing affordability.