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
How do you make a $270,000 profit? Sell your property during lockdown
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Property sellers who sold at a profit made paper gains of $270,000 on average last winter, as housing prices soared in spite of lockdown, new figures show.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/how-do-you-make-a-270-000-p…
# Australia, Housing market.Bye bye borders, hello buyers as visitors to Queensland purchase homes
Toby Crockford The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Victorian and NSW residents sick of lengthy lockdowns rented Queensland accommodation in their droves, and now many have chosen to buy homes in the Sunshine State.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/bye-bye-borders-hello-buyers-as-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership.Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki warns investors to prepare for ‘war’
Aidan Devine Daily Telegraph (No paywall)Rich Dad Poor Dad author and owner of more than 8,000 properties Robert Kiyosaki has warned an economic crash worse than the 2008 recession is coming and Australia’s negative gearing policies are a form of “Marxism”. ... “My concern is that … with negative gearing it’s monetising debt and property values are overinflated … it’s not real. It’s got to make economic sense.”
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/rich-dad-poor-dad-author-robe…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Tax.The town where almost every home makes a profit, but not everyone wins
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)It’s not quite a sure thing, but it’s close: Bendigo home sellers are more likely to make a profit than anywhere else in the nation, new figures show. ... Bendigo’s market has jumped amid demand from a wave of tree-changers in the pandemic, as well as ultra-low interest rates and government grants that sparked demand from local buyers. ... Drawcards include the affordable options compared to Melbourne, reasonable commuting distance for those who could largely work from home but still need to be in the capital one or two days a week, the restaurant scene and local infrastructure such as the airport, university, state government offices and hospital.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-town-where-almost-every…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.When WA’s hard border comes down, will property prices go up?
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Western Australia’s property market could undergo a mini property boom when borders, closed for almost two years by the coronavirus pandemic, finally reopen on February 5.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/when-wa-s-hard-border-comes…
# Australia, Housing market.How to offer security to millions of renters
Emily Holzknecht The New York Times (Paywall)From the United States ... For many people, the pandemic experience has centered around the home: working from it, quarantining in it and getting an education in it. And for far too many Americans, just keeping a home during this time has been a challenge. Now, as the Omicron variant continues its surge, federal funds for rental assistance are drying up and there are only a few remaining eviction moratoria still in place. Local governments across the country need to use all the tools at their disposal to keep people in their homes and strengthen tenant protections. In New York State, progressive Democrats are working to pass the Good Cause Eviction bill before the state’s eviction moratorium expires on Saturday.' The New York Times, 13 January 2022. Watch the video at: [https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000008153212/new-york-eviction-bill.html]
https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Coronavirus COVID-19, No-grounds evictions.In Boston, an Approach to Housing That Avoids Eviction
Shelby R King (No paywall)A major for-profit affordable housing provider hasn’t evicted a single tenant since early 2020. How did the company do it, and can its method be a model for other developers? ... Tenants’ rights attorney Jay Rose spent four-plus decades waging legal battles on behalf of poor folks. So taking a job as a legal consultant for the nation’s largest for-profit affordable housing landlord might seem an odd choice. But executives at Boston-based WinnCompanies—which manages approximately $14 billion worth of largely affordable and military housing in 550 developments across 22 states—recently learned an unpleasant fact and knew the organization needed help from someone like Rose. (Yes! Solutions Journalism)
https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2021/12/29/bostons-top-evict…
# Must read International, Eviction, Tribunal NCAT, Affordable housing.Draft national plan to end violence against women and children released, open for consultation
Georgia Hitch ABC (No paywall)The government's draft national plan to end violence against women and children has been released, showing what it thinks needs to happen and how it plans to get there. ... The plan is taking a very wide look at what supports, services, policies and programs are needed across the community to help reduce violence against women and children and hopefully eliminate it one day. ... But the plan doesn't say how much money would be put toward these measures. Domestic violence support services and emergency housing providers have struggled with increased demand during the pandemic, with both sectors calling for more funding to ease some of the pressure and make sure women are safe.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-14/draft-national-plan-end-v…
# New policy announcement Australia, Domestic violence, Federal Government, Women.