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
Australian power prices now 'among lowest in the world' as renewable energy drives costs down
Daniel Mercer ABC (No paywall)A flood of renewable energy has helped drive down household power prices to their lowest levels in almost a decade, according to a report which suggests Australia has some of the cheapest electricity in the world. ... According to the Australian Energy Council, Australian households were paying the 10th lowest rate among the world's advanced economies for every unit of electricity they used.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-03/renewables-make-power-pri…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change.Advancing housing justice protects public safety too
Gustavo Rivera and Jessica González-Rojas (Paywall)From New York ... We represent Queens and the Bronx in the Legislature. In our home districts, immigrants, people of color, and New York’s essential workers struggle to cover their housing costs while gentrification and eviction run rampant. Earlier this month, New York’s eviction moratorium lapsed. Across New York City, more than 200,000 eviction cases will begin to move forward — 35% of them in the Bronx and 18% of them in Queens. We have helped countless constituents apply for our state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, but ERAP has run dry. Despite a multi-billion-dollar backlog in rent, last month the federal government awarded New York State just $27 million to address this crisis. Gov. Hochul has written to leaders of Congress and the president, calling on them to send $1.7 billion more in necessary rental relief to New York. We urge President Biden to heed this call. ... There are two bills before the Legislature that, together, will ensure a just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by helping tenants stay housed and providing necessary relief to low-income New Yorkers who cannot pay the rent. Good cause eviction legislation would require landlords to have a good reason (such as non-payment of rent) to pursue eviction and prohibits raising the rent by an unreasonable amount. This bill will provide due process for renters as eviction cases begin to move forward. It would protect tenants from real estate speculation and discriminatory evictions. As landlords are seeking double-digit rent increases, it would give tenants a tool to fight back. We are eager to see it become law.
(NY Daily News)
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-housing-justice-publ…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, No-grounds evictions, Race and ethnicity.Crowded in and squeezed out
Maani Truu ABC (No paywall)The Central Coast, according to some, is quickly becoming part of Sydney’s outer suburbs. But as skyrocketing house prices push Sydneysiders north, who’s being priced out? ... Recently one topic of concern has surpassed all others: skyrocketing property prices. In Umina Beach, one of the closest beachside suburbs to Sydney, the median property price for a standalone house has jumped from $415,000 in 2013 to $1.04 million in 2021, according to property website realestate.com.au. Similar booms are taking place across the region. Much of this growth has happened over the past few years, with increasing prices in Sydney, proximity to the city and the pandemic push to working from home making the Central Coast an attractive option for Sydneysiders.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-07/sydney-migration-central-…
# NSW, Families, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.Why are soaring property prices left out of inflation figures?
Gareth Hutchens ABC (No paywall)What is inflation? What does it have to do with the cost of living? And how come soaring property prices aren't included in the official inflation figure? ... the CPI tracks the prices of more than 100,000 goods and services in the economy every year. However, it only tracks the prices of things households buy from other sectors. It doesn't track the prices of things households sell to each other. ... if someone buys an already-existing home from someone else, that won't be included in inflation calculations.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-06/why-are-soaring-property-…
# Australia, Housing market.‘Nothing we can do’: The RBA says it is not to blame for soaring house prices. So who is?
Matthew Elmas The New Daily (No paywall)Ask Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe why house prices are so high and you’ll get a telling response. The RBA freely admits that record-low interest rates have created a cheap money binge that’s lit a fire under house prices during COVID, allowing people to bid up prices at auction and largely killing the Australian dream for many others in the process. But when asked about the sorry situation at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Dr Lowe said we should look elsewhere for someone to blame.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/02/03/rba-house…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Residents criticise Victorian government's 'Big Brother' approach to building social housing
Elise Kinsella ABC (No paywall)For decades, Kaye Oddie has been involved in community battles to protect the heritage of her patch of North Melbourne and make sure planning decisions reflect what locals want. But now, she and her Shiel Street neighbours feel like they have been completely cut out of a key planning decision that will soon be made for their street. ... On her street, a nine-storey apartment building has been proposed by Housing Choices Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that provides affordable housing to those in need. What has angered neighbours is how the building will be assessed.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-07/victorian-stoush-over-gov…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Planning and development, State Government.Five ways home owners can prepare for the first interest rate rise in more than a decade
Matthew Elmas The New Daily (No paywall)Millions of Australian home owners are staring at a steep rise in their mortgage repayments over the next two years as the Reserve Bank brings an end to the era of record-low interest rates, creating a debt cliff in the process. Although no one knows when rates will rise or by how much, RBA governor Philip Lowe has said an increase in mortgage rates is “inevitable”.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/your-budget/2022/02/04/intere…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Investor drops $1,485,000 on original St Peters semi as Sydney auctions return
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)An investor dropped $1,485,000 on an original semi-detached house in St Peters at auction on Saturday in the hopes of flipping the home.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/investor-drops-1-485-000-on…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents.