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
Rural aged care crisis forces elderly to move hundreds of kilometres from loved ones
Dana Daniel The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Aged care homes are closing at an escalating rate, forcing rural families apart as elderly residents are moved hundreds of kilometres away.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rural-aged-care-crisis-f…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.Retirement villages becoming more affordable but beware bigger picture
Rachel Lane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The 2021 Retirement Census, an annual collection of retirement village data compiled by the Property Council of Australia and PWC, provides good insight into a wide range of aspects of the industry, including the use of technology, building types, contract terms and the profile of people moving into retirement villages. ... Affordability is increasing, with the average two-bedroom home in a village being 55 per cent of the median house price in the same postcode, down from 67 per cent.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/retirement-vil…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people.'At my age, change is not good’: Elderly residents battle privatisation plan
Cara Waters The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Hundreds of elderly people will be forced to switch carers and more than 60 workers will be made redundant under a Boroondara City Council plan to privatise in-home aged care services. The council last week approved an “in-principle” resolution to shift its domestic assistance, personal care, respite care, meal preparation and property maintenance to not-for-profit aged care provider mecwacare. Boroondara is one of 23 councils across Victoria to have announced their exit from aged care services as a growing number struggle to provide an increased number of services. The councils say federal and state governments have transferred increased financial responsibilities to local governments without the necessary extra funding.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/at-my-age-change-is-not…
# Australia, Federal Government, Health, Housing market, Older people, State Government.Have property prices risen more under Liberal or Labor governments?
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)It’s often assumed property prices rise under a Liberal government and are more likely to fall under a Labor government, but is that an urban myth? But according to CoreLogic data, property prices – going as far back as 1990 – have endured peaks and troughs regardless of which side of politics was in power. Economists agree broader economic conditions, such as interest rates, which are largely influenced by global factors, are far more important in dictating property prices than any one side of politics.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/do-property-prices-fall-und…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market.As the housing crisis rages on, Anglicare floats plan to convert disused aged care home into unit block
Keira Proust ABC (No paywall)"[Rentals] are as rare as hen's teeth and too expensive," [Black Summer bushfire victim Ursula] said. "Yet there are houses in Eden that stand empty." One of those empty buildings is the former Roy Wotton Gardens aged care home. ... Not-for-profit organisation Anglicare is attempting to raise enough money to buy the building, which it plans to convert into 16 affordable units for people in need.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-20/proposal-to-convert-nursi…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing market, Regional NSW.Expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme comes with pros and cons for first-time property buyers
Michael Janda ABC (No paywall)The government is planning to expand the Home Guarantee Scheme, which allows first home buyers to purchase with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent. But what might that mean for prospective home-owners? ... However, RateCity's research director Sally Tindall described the increase in thresholds as a "band-aid fix".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-19/expanding-the-home-guaran…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.New research shows how bad Australia’s housing crisis has become
Rohan Smith news.com.au (No paywall)Staggering new research shows exactly how hard it is for a young person to pay rent in any of Australia’s capital cities, let alone buy a home. The research carried out by the Everybody’s Home campaign — a coalition of housing, homelessness and welfare organisations — will send a chill down the spines of young people hoping to enter the housing market in jobs like retail and hospitality. Researchers looked at the average rent of a single bedroom in a two-bedroom apartment in Australia’s capital cities. They cross referenced that with the weekly wage of a level 1, 18-year-old hospitality or retail worker, as well as somebody on Youth Allowance. The findings? The average 18-year-old retail worker in every capital city spent way above 30 per cent of their income on renting just that one room — a figure most experts say indicates rental stress.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/new-research…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Young people.Construction industry looks at one-bedroom dongas to ease housing crisis on Gold Coast
Nicole Dyer, Matt Webber, and Kimberley Bernard ABC (No paywall)The cost of living has forced business owners to think outside the box to address housing on the Gold Coast. ... Last year's Woman of the Year, entrepreneur and founding director of My Bella Casa, Tamika Smith, believed off-site construction of one-bedroom houses for new dwellings was the answer.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-20/one-bedroom-dongas-pitche…
# Australia, Housing market.