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
Sydney apartment investors fear debt trap as levies skyrocket
Anna Patty Domain (No paywall)Investors from retirees to single mothers on low incomes fear losing their properties after their strata levies jumped from under $2000 per quarter to more than $10,000 for building repairs they had no say in approving. Hundreds of owners who paid about $200,000 for each apartment in the UniLodge student accommodation building on Broadway have been ordered to pay the levy by strata managing agent Bright and Duggan, which a tribunal appointed to take full control over the owners’ corporation. The building had become run down and repair and maintenance works were necessary for its structural integrity, Bright and Duggan said. ... Many of the apartments in the heritage building have been vacant or rented at reduced fees since the coronavirus pandemic prevented international students from returning to Sydney. UniLodge subsidiary Sydney Campus manages the historic building and student rentals, from which it takes a commission.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/sydney-apartment-investors-…
# NSW, Repairs, Strata, Students.What Australia’s median house price buys you overseas
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Australia’s property market has boomed over the past year. The national median house price hit $1,066,133 in December, on Domain data, the first time it has risen beyond $1 million. With such sky-high capital gains, some homeowners will be wondering whether to cash in and buy something else, possibly in another country. So, just what can our median house price bag you overseas?
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-australia-s-median-hou…
# Australia, Housing market, International.What you need to know before applying for your first home loan
Meg Watson ABC (No paywall)My partner and I just got pre-approved for our first home loan, and I feel like I could spew any second. ... I don't come from a wealthy family, and both my parents rent. No one ever taught me how this process works and, to a total newbie, it's really confusing. Here's everything I've learned so far. [Read on] (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/what-you-need-to-know-before-app…
# Australia, Home ownership.New act to implement ‘peppercorn’ ground rents achieves Royal Assent
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The Leasehold Reform Bill, which aims to drastically reduce ground rent costs for leaseholders, has become law after getting royal assent on Tuesday. The new act, which applies to England and Wales, restricts ground rent owed on new leases to a token peppercorn rent and aims to make leasehold ownership “fairer and more affordable”. Breaching the new law will be a civil offence, with fines of between £500 and £30,000 for offenders. Local authorities, who are expected to enforce the legislation, will be able to keep the financial penalties to fund their enforcement activities.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/new-act-to-implement-p…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.How to get a ‘1’ in front of your mortgage interest rate
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)It’s got to be the question I’m asked most often: Jess, should I fix in the interest rate on my home loan? Happy mortgage shopping!
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/how-to-get-a-1-in-front-o…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Housing boom hits Katherine in Northern Territory as new jobs bring transient workers
Roxanne Fitzgerald ABC (No paywall)While buying a house remains out of reach for many Australians, it's the much cheaper option in this small Northern Territory town — even if you have no plans to stay long-term. The discrepancy in rent prices and the cost of buying is even causing a bit of a housing boom in this town.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-12/katherine-house-market-bo…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.Where Sydney house hunters can save by moving one stop along the train line
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney house hunters could spend less on their next home by moving just one stop along the train line, with prices varying by hundreds of thousands of dollars between some neighbouring stations – and in some cases by more than $1 million.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/where-sydney-house-hunters-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.How to calculate capital gains tax on a rental property
George Cochrane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)If a property is first rented, and then you move in, the capital gain must be apportioned between the number of days the property was rented and the number of days it was used as your main residence. {Read on]
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/how-to-calcula…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.