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
‘Alarming’: Postcodes being used to determine credit scores
Sezen Bakan The New Daily (No paywall)Your current address could prevent you from buying your dream home after a major credit reporting agency started including postcode data in its application assessments. Equifax produces credit scores, which are used by banks to help determine a loan applicant’s creditworthiness. Applicants with high credit scores find it easier to access loans with lower interest rates, while people with low credit scores are slugged with higher interest rates or rejected outright.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/02/07/postcode-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.The lengths Sydney families are going to for a house with a backyard
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Young families trying to crack the housing market are paying top dollar for run-down homes, as for many it’s their only chance of owning a decent slice of Sydney land. ... Experts say investors are being outbid by desperate owner-occupiers going hell for leather for original houses, despite having to sink more money in down the track in an effort to upgrade rather than be priced-out altogether.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-lengths-sydney-families…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.The one-bedroom Jervis Bay beach shack with a starting price of $4 million
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Dreaming of buying a beach shack a stone’s throw from the surf? A one-bedroom property near Jervis Bay, NSW has been listed for sale, but it will set you back a pretty penny with a price guide of $4 million. They are few and far between but this tightly held beach cottage at 5 Beecroft Parade, Currarong – less than a three-hour drive from Sydney – has hit the market for the first time in almost a century.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-one-bedroom-jervis-bay-…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.Save money on rent while living your best life
Lauren Vardy (No paywall)If you’re like most people, rent is one of your biggest expenses – and it’s a cost you can’t easily reduce once you’ve signed a lease. Thankfully there are a few painless ways to save money on rent so you can keep living the life you love. (rent.com.au)
# Australia, Rent, Share houses.The ‘biggest challenge’ facing property investors this year
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Residential property investors should take heart from the predicted bounce-back in the economy over 2022 – but with a few caveats. While the uplift in the expected economic growth rate from 1.5 per cent in 2020/21 to 3.75 per cent in 2021/22 could prove a major boost, a sooner-than-forecast rise in interest rates and delays in reopening international borders could inhibit returns.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-biggest-challenge-facin…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.No, Kirstie Allsopp, cancelling Netflix won’t buy a house – in any location
Zoe Williams The Guardian (No paywall)The TV presenter has said young people who can’t afford their own home should move to cheaper areas and stop wasting money. Why do the middle-aged insist on these senseless attacks?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/07/kirstie-al…
# International, Home ownership, Young people.What the median price gets you in Australia’s priciest suburbs
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)It’s no secret that buying a home in some of Australia’s priciest suburbs does not come cheap.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-the-median-price-gets-…
# Australia, Housing market.NT court decision should lead to better public housing in remote communities, lawyer says
Calla Wahlquist The Guardian (No paywall)The Northern Territory court of appeal has upheld a ruling that state-owned housing must be reasonably comfortable to be considered habitable, in a decision that advocates say should result in better housing outcomes for remote communities across the territory. Friday’s decision follows a six-year legal battle brought by residents of the Ltyentye Apurte or Santa Teresa community 85km south-east of Alice Springs. The community said inadequate and inhumane housing was due to repeated failures by public housing authorities to conduct necessary repairs. Seventy residents took the territory government to the Northern Territory civil and appeals tribunal over the state of housing in the Eastern Arrernte community in 2016. Here's the same story by Samantha Jonscher entitled: 'NT Supreme Court finds public housing tenants in Santa Teresa entitled to 'reasonable comfort' on the ABC at [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/nt-supreme-court-finds-for-santa-teresa-public-housing-tenants/100804718?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=mail&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/04/nt-court-…
# Legal significance Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Rent, Repairs, State Government.