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
Retirement villages: the destruction of retiree capital
Callum Foote (No paywall)Are retirement villages a rip-off? Retirees could be up to a million dollars worse off if they moved into a retirement village than if they remained at home, according to new analysis. (Michael West Media)
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/retirement-villages-the-destructi…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Older people.Security of housing tenure key to determining pension amount
Noel Whittaker The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I have recently learned that if a person is living in a caravan (or a tiny house on a trailer that they own) located on land they do not own, then Centrelink will call that person a “homeowner”. ... For social security purposes, a homeowner is a person who has a right or interest in the place they occupy, and the right or interest gives them reasonable security of tenure. As such, a person would be considered a homeowner if they or their partner own (in part or in full) and live in a caravan which provides them with reasonable security of tenure.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/security-of-ho…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Federal Government.‘We didn’t have a plan’: Transforming an old school bus into a tiny home
Brigid Blackney Domain (No paywall)Just six months after they got together [Ash Poulton and Matt Ealding] bought an old Nissan Civilian bus, and started transforming it into a home on wheels they could drive on a lap of Australia. They fixed up the former school bus – which they bought as an empty shell for $10,000 – at their home on the Gold Coast and at Poulton’s family’s farm in Kilcoy, while both worked full-time jobs to save for the trip. Nearly everything they used for the conversion was recycled, including a $50 kitchen from Gumtree, odds and ends from friends’ garages, and leftovers from job sites where Ealding, a carpenter, was working.
https://www.domain.com.au/living/we-didnt-have-a-plan-1113202/?u…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Housing market.Blackstone's new real estate play: the rent-to-buy market
(Paywall)Home Partners believes it has created an alternative path to home ownership. But is it really more like another corporate landlord? (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/2267d715-6ff9-428e-959a-f0e379e581e9?…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.How we bought our rental from our landlord
Koren Helbig ABC (No paywall)For almost four years, we dreamed of buying our rundown little rental house. Then, just as my partner Carmelo and I had given up and bid on another place, the sale unexpectedly fell into place. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-we-bought-our-rental-from-ou…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Landlords and agents, Personal stories.The Sydney suburbs expert buyers and sellers have their eyes on
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney’s rapidly rising property prices are tipped to slow in 2022, with buyers facing less competition as more homes hit the market. Most buyers have an area in mind for their next purchase, whether guided by proximity to family, friends or good schools, affordability or the best appreciation potential. But with hundreds of suburbs to choose from it can also help to get a little inspiration from further afield.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-sydney-suburbs-expert-b…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.‘Missed the boat’: Is the dream of a holiday home over?
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Average Sydney families still dreaming of snapping up a summer home on the cheap may have “missed the boat”, as staggering figures reveal a dramatic price rise for properties in popular NSW holiday spots.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/missed-the-boat-is-the-drea…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.Home owners hit with rate hikes as bank funding costs rise
Sezen Bakan The New Daily (No paywall)Paying off your mortgage is getting more expensive, with Westpac becoming the latest of 17 banks to hike their fixed rates this year.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/01/21/fixed-rat…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.