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Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services have limited availability over the holiday period. The Tenants' Union will operate a Tenancy Advice Hotline from Wednesday 18/12/2024 until Wednesday 8/1/2025 (excluding weekends and public holidays). The hours of operation are 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.
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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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
How are landlords interacting with tenants when it comes to repairs?
Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... How are social landlords interacting with tenants when it comes to repairs and maintenance? An Inside Housing survey, in association with home life safety specialist Aico, looks for the answers
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/sponsored/how-are-landlords-inte…
# International, Public and community housing, Repairs.I'm building a tiny house so I can take it with me for work
Riordan Davis ABC (No paywall)In late 2020, in the depths of Victoria's lockdown, I was living with my parents in my childhood farmhouse in Gippsland, Victoria. I yearned for independence and a minimalist lifestyle, so rather than saving up for a house deposit and committing to one place, a mortgage, and rising interest rates, I wanted to keep my options open. ... So with the help of my dad I decided to build my own tiny house on a trailer that I could take with me wherever I go. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-build-a-tiny-sustainable-…
# Australia, Housing market, Personal stories, Young people.'Scared of overpaying’: Sydney house prices have their steepest fall in three years
Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sydney’s median house price has recorded its steepest quarterly fall in three years, new figures show, and experts have forecast further falls as the downturn spreads across the city. Rising interest rates are the main reason for the market’s shift from boom to downturn, as higher mortgage repayments eat into home buyers’ budgets and chill the sentiment on the ground. But the discounts have provided some opportunities for home hunters to upgrade more easily than they could have six months ago.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/scared-of-overpaying-sydney…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.Auction clearance rates tumble as rising interest rates sap Australian homebuyers’ appetite
Peter Hannam The Guardian (No paywall)Australia’s real estate market continued to cool in the June quarter as rising interest rates sapped buyers’ appetite, with almost one in five homes to be auctioned in Sydney removed from the market, according to CoreLogic. Also, read Matthew Elmas's article entitled: 'Auction sales plunge as property downturn bites' in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2022/07/26/auction-housing-market/].
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/26/auction-c…
# Australia, Housing market.‘A problem for all states’: Victoria bans embedded power networks in new unit blocks
Adeshola Ore The Guardian (No paywall)Victoria will ban private electricity networks in new apartment buildings in a bid to drive down soaring household energy bills and ensure residents are not trapped in expensive deals. ... Embedded power networks serve multiple customers and are common in multi-resident complexes like apartment blocks, some retirement homes, social housing and caravan parks. They have been criticised for acting as a barrier to residents sourcing a potentially cheaper energy deal.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/26/a-problem…
# Australia, Strata, Utilities electricity water gas, State Government.Trump Calls for Moving Homeless to ‘Tent Cities’ in First D.C. Speech Since Leaving Office
Brian Bennett (No paywall)In his first speech back in Washington since losing a second term as President, Donald Trump let some big, autocratic ideas spill out for how to run America. Riffing off his written remarks, Trump said the government should “remove” thousands of homeless Americans and put them in tents on “large parcels of inexpensive land in the outer reaches of the cities” with “permanent bathrooms” and “medical professionals.” (Time)
# International, Homelessness.The risky tactic home buyers use to try to nab a bargain
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Home hunters who make lowball offers for properties they like as prices fall risk missing out on the place of their dreams. Potential buyers who read about economist forecasts of 20 per cent property price falls by next year are in some cases making bids well below a home’s price guide before realising the market has not fallen that far and another buyer has offered more. Agents warn some vendors will take offence at opportunistic offers for their family home and refuse to engage with that buyer, and that although property prices are falling as interest rates rise, the best quality homes are still attracting competition.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-risky-tactic-home-buyer…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Westpac to offer 10-minute mortgage as it eyes refinancing surge
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Westpac chief executive Peter King says a technology revamp will allow the lender to fully approve digital mortgages in as few as 10 minutes, as it prepares for a long-term shift towards digital banking, and a potential boom in refinancing. On Wednesday, the banking giant will become the latest lender to announce plans to push into digital mortgage lending, a key battleground for banks and fintechs as they try to slash approval times.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-to-o…
# Australia, Housing market.