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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
China’s property market is in freefall. What does this mean for the world economy?
Keyu Jin The Guardian (No paywall)The sector is dangerously overheated – but unlike the 2008 financial crisis, the global ripple effect is likely to be limited ... The property sector in the Chinese economy has always been something of a puzzle. At its peak, it accounted for a quarter of the nation’s economic output, broadly measured. And it sees people in Beijing and Shanghai paying house prices similar to those in San Francisco and New York, despite having just a quarter the income of American buyers. Now many believe that we are about to see a violent contraction of the property market in China. The government wants to intervene to curb speculation, and rein in what it calls the “three high” problem: high prices, high debt and high financialisation. The approach has been nothing short of dramatic. Financing for property developers has tanked. Earlier this year, property sales declined by as much as 20-30%, in-progress developments are not being completed and people have taken to the streets, banding together to stop mortgage payments on such projects in protest. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/23/china-prop…
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents.New Australian houses might need a total redesign. Here's why some states won't change construction codes
Annie Guest ABC (No paywall)Should newly built homes have to be accessible for frail elderly people or people with a disability? Aged and disability advocates certainly think so, and they're urging a meeting of housing ministers on Friday to push for agreement on national accessible building standards. But at least three states have already opted out.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/australian-houses-might-n…
# Australia, Disability, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Older people, State Government.A US city is paying Airbnb hosts to remove listings
Kristy Johnson Domain (No paywall)One US city in Arizona is embarking on a bold initiative to improve its housing options for locals. The council-approved “rent local” program will provide Airbnb hosts in Sedona up to $US10,000 ($14,511) to remove their short-term listings from the vacation rental company. The move is not to discourage travel to the area, but rather to improve housing options for locals amid rent increases and the general uncertainty of the real estate market.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/a-us-city-is-paying-airbnb-…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Local Government, Short-term holiday letting.Off-the-plan sunset clauses under spotlight in Queensland review
Jocelyn Garcia The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sunset clauses used by property developers to terminate off-the-plan contracts are being examined by the Queensland government. The government is asking for feedback on possible reforms under the Property Law Review to better protect property buyers. “Since the pandemic we have seen more people move to Queensland, resulting in growing property sales including buying ‘off the plan’ developments,” Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said. “I am aware of recent reports of developers terminating contracts for off-the-plan sale of land if the contract is not settled within a specified time frame. “At the same time, property prices have been rising, which may leave these buyers with limited or no options within their budget.”The government is asking for feedback on possible reforms under the Property Law Review to better protect property buyers.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/off-the-plan-sunset-c…
# Australia, Strata, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government.We’re comparing apples, oranges and bananas’: Climate disclosure by banks under microscope
Simone Fox Koob The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Reporting of climate change risks for banks and other financial institutions must become more standardised, climate experts say, with some calling for mandatory rules around disclosure. Australia’s biggest lender, the Commonwealth Bank, last week released its first standalone climate report, which found that more than $31 billion of Commonwealth Bank home loans are in areas exposed to increasing extreme weather events.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-re-compar…
# Australia, Climate change, Housing market.Construction firms are collapsing after a loss-making boom, and 'massive greed' is to blame
Nassim Khadem ABC (No paywall)After witnessing four decades of boom-to-bust cycles in Australia's residential property industry, experienced Gold Coast developer Soheil Abedian puts the construction industry's current woes down to one simple reason: greed. In fact, it's "massive greed", he says, that is a product of "the capitalist system that we have in Australia and the Western world — that everybody would like to have more and more profit". He says the construction industry's current woes were created by too much government stimulus, short supply and unsustainable prices. Also, read Antonia O'Flaherty's article entitled: 'Oracle Homes goes into liquidation owing $14m and leaving 300 homes incomplete' on the ABC at [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-24/oracle-homes-construction-company-collapse/101368440].
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/greed-construction-loss-m…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Perrottet government works to convince building commissioner to stay
Lucy Cormack The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Perrottet government hopes to convince NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler to reverse his decision to resign over concerns about former fair trading minister Eleni Petinos now that she has been sacked from the role. Chandler’s shock resignation last month was triggered in part by issues with Petinos and her office, which were laid bare in a damning letter that was referred to the corruption watchdog and has since been made public.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/perrottet-government-works-t…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.I’m living in a house-share at 65 – there are a lot of people in the UK like me
Anonymous The Guardian (No paywall)In days gone by I would have been offered a one-bedroom council flat, but not any more. I'm a 65-year-old man living in a house-share near Salford, Manchester. I’ve been here for four years, maybe five – who’s counting? – and I share with four others. More and more over-60s are finding themselves in situations like mine. According to one flat-sharing site, there’s been a 239% increase in 55- to 64-year-olds looking for house-shares since 2011.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/24/living-in-…
# International, Share houses, Housing market, Older people.