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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
Housing debate prompts Queensland to take a better look at land supply
Sean Parnell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Deputy Premier Steven Miles will overhaul the system used to monitor the supply of land for development in Queensland. After commissioning a review of the annual Land Supply and Development Monitoring Report, Miles said there was a need for all stakeholders to have confidence in the data. “The south-east corner is growing rapidly and, as such, we need to have the most accurate information in order to plan for that growth,” Miles said on Friday.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/housing-debate-prompt…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.Analysis of 5,500 apartment developments reveals your new home may not be as energy efficient as you think
Michael Ambrose The Conversation (No paywall)Apartment living is booming in Australia. Many people choose apartments for their good energy efficiency, which reduces the need for heating and cooling and leads to lower power bills. But not every apartment is as energy efficient as the development advertises.
https://theconversation.com/analysis-of-5-500-apartment-developm…
# Australia, Strata, Utilities electricity water gas, Housing market.Property prices have risen seven times faster than wages in a year. Can it continue?
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Housing values have risen at almost seven times the pace of wages growth over the past year, even though the property market is starting to weaken and pay packets are picking up.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/property-prices-have-risen-…
# Australia, Housing market.Can renting improve Australians' housing reality?
ABC (No paywall)Housing experts say that with the Australian dream now a mirage for many people, we should at least improve their reality. (ABC Politics Explained (Easily)) ... super brief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvxEG9-qjcQ&ab_channel=ABCNews%2…
# Australia, Rent, Repairs, Federal Government, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions, State Government, Young people.Party and Candidate Responses to National Shelter Policy Checklist
National Shelter (No paywall)National Shelter has released the party and candidate responses to its 2022 policy platform checklist. Early in the campaign, National Shelter invited the major parties, minor parties, and C200 independent candidates to indicate how their policies or policies of their party support the National Shelter priorities. This report includes a summary of the various housing policies and programs announced by the major parties both before and during the campaign. You will find the checklist and National Shelter's analysis here.
https://shelter.org.au/national-shelter-2022-2023-federalcheckli…
# Must read Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Housing market.Five housing policies that wouldn’t drive up prices in Australia
Greg Jericho The Guardian (No paywall)So housing affordability has taken centre stage in the campaign. And would you believe it, the policy is designed around pumping up demand rather than addressing supply. As economist Saul Eslake has noted, pretty much every major housing affordability policy going back to the 1960s has been about pumping up demand. ... And has pumping up demand worked to improve housing affordability? Well, no.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2022/may/16/fiv…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Housing market, Planning and development, Tax.Scrapping ‘no fault evictions’ doesn’t address the problem of spiralling rents
Francisco Garcia The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The proposed renters’ reform bill contains one particularly eye-catching commitment. For years, housing activists and charities have fought for the abolition of section 21 of the Housing Act (1988), an insidious piece of Thatcherite legislation that became better known as “no-fault evictions”. The premise is simple enough. Under the terms of section 21, private landlords have been able to evict tenants without a reason, and giving just two months notice. ... Though doubtlessly a positive step, scrapping section 21 doesn’t do much to address the problem of spiralling rents. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/16/no-fault-e…
# International, Rent, No-grounds evictions.Super for houses is a bad policy, but Scott Morrison wants to pick a fight over it
Katharine Murphy The Guardian (No paywall)If the 2022 contest is between a bulldozer and a builder, it makes sense that the final act of the election be staged on a residential housing construction site. ... As his final throw of the dice in this election, Morrison tracked back to homeownership, dusting off a well-ventilated but previously perpetually stalled proposal for people to use their superannuation to help with the purchase of their first home. Just for the record, Malcolm Turnbull once blasted this concept as “thoroughly bad” and “the craziest idea I’ve heard” and no less an eminence than Mathias Cormann noted several years ago this would “increase demand for housing and … would actually drive up house prices by more”. But here we are. Also, read Rachel Clun's and James Massola's article entitled: '"Leverage their own money": Liberals want to open up superannuation after housing plan' in The Sydney Morning Herald at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/leverage-their-own-money-liberals-want-to-open-up-superannuation-after-housing-plan-20220516-p5allr.html]. Read Michelle Grattan's article entitled: 'Scott Morrison tells Liberal launch "I’m just warming up", as he pitches on home ownership' in The Conversation at: [ https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-scott-morrison-tells-liberal-launch-im-just-warming-up-as-he-pitches-on-home-ownership-183100]. Read Nassim Khadem's article entitled: 'Should you leave your money in superannuation or put it towards a deposit for a first home?' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-17/money-in-superannuation-or-housing-deposit-first-home-buyer/101071836]. Read Tom Lowrey's article entitled: 'What are the two major parties' policies for housing this federal election? What are they promising first home buyers?' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-17/what-are-the-two-major-parties-promising-for-first-home-buyers/101070144]. Read Kate Burke's and Tawar Razaghi's article entitled: 'What first home buyers think of raiding their super to buy a home' in Domain at: [https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-first-home-buyers-think-of-raiding-their-super-to-buy-a-home-20220516-p5alns.html]. Read Cameron Murphy's opinion piece entitled: 'House now, super later: Life is too short to delay purchase' in The Sydney Morning Herald at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/house-now-super-later-life-is-too-short-to-delay-purchase-20220516-p5alpr.html] Read Jessica Irvine's opinion piece entitled: 'Super v housing: it’s time young people had that debate' in The Sydney Morning Herald at: [https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/super-v-housing-it-s-time-young-people-had-that-debate-20220516-p5alru.html] Read The Sydney Morning Herald's Editorial entitled: 'Aspiring young buyers must have a voice in housing policy' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/aspiring-young-buyers-must-have-a-voice-in-housing-policy-20220516-p5alsv.html]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/15/super-for…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, Young people.