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
Coastal properties at highest climate risk could fall in value in 18 months
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Many city dwellers have made a sea-change during the pandemic, sending property prices in some coastal hotspots soaring. But coastal properties at the highest risk of climate change impacts could start to fall in value as soon as 18 months from now, an expert has warned.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/coastal-properties-at-highe…
# NSW, Strata, Climate change, Housing market.Where buyers splashed the most cash on sea changes last year
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)City dwellers poured cash into coastal property amid last year’s lockdowns, and the trend is showing no signs of slowing amid the Omicron outbreak. When measured by the areas with the highest total value of sales in 2021, according to CoreLogic figures the most popular regional town in NSW was Port Macquarie on the Mid North Coast.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/where-buyers-splashed-the-m…
# Australia, Housing market, Regional NSW.Agents prep for Plan B as Omicron hits the property industry
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Some property sellers are already shifting to online auctions, even though there is no requirement to do so, as the Omicron strain of COVID-19 hits the housing market. The disease is also disrupting inspections and some agents are taking the added precaution of organising A and B teams to cover in case one of them is sick.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/agents-prep-for-plan-b-as-o…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents.Bondi v Byron Bay: The differing impact of COVID-19 on rents and property prices
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The COVID-19 crisis caused double-digit declines in rental prices in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but fuelled massive rent rises in Byron Bay, as a report finds rental affordability improves “significantly in the absence of Airbnb”. A draft report into the pandemic’s differing impact on housing markets found a “clear Airbnb effect on rental markets”, with more rental properties and reduced rental prices in parts of Sydney where the number of short-term holiday rentals dropped. But in regional tourist hotspots such as Byron Bay, where the number of Airbnb properties was stable, long-term rental supply and vacancy rates have declined and prices have increased, according to 'Bondi to Byron: The diverging experience of rental and home-buyer markets in urban and regional NSW.' The report’s authors, Bill Randolph, a professor in the University of NSW’s City Futures Research Centre, and William Thackway, found significant falls in rents and Airbnb listings in Sydney’s beach suburbs such as Bondi Beach and Bronte, before rental prices stabilised in 2021. The report also found sharper falls in rental prices in the inner city compared to western Sydney following the onset of the pandemic. ... Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, said rents were beginning to return to pre-COVID levels in areas such as Bondi, while much of regional NSW and Sydney’s outer suburbs were in “affordability freefall”. “The population and economic shifts coming out of COVID are playing out without a safety net for people who are missing out on a home through the inefficient and cruel market dynamics,” he said.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/bondi-v-byron-bay-the-differing-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting.Sadiq Khan activates emergency measures to protect homeless people as temperatures dive
James Wilmore Inside Housing (Paywall)From London ... Under the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), councils have to open emergency accommodation for people who are sleeping rough during weather conditions that could pose a threat to life. Temperatures are forecast to drop to at least -1°C in the capital tonight. To avoid the risk of coronavirus spread, Mr Khan’s office has asked councils that only single-occupancy accommodation, such as hotel rooms, be used for SWEP provision. The London mayor ... said: “Across London, we will do everything we can to avoid anyone being forced to sleep rough in these freezing conditions.”
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/sadiq-khan-activates-e…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Local Government.As Omicron moves in, Australia is facing a predictable tragedy in aged care
Anne Connolly ABC (No paywall)Today, there are tens of thousands of elderly people sitting alone in their bedrooms in nursing homes — some with COVID, more being tested, others stuck there because of management's well-founded fears. ... Most tragically, this crisis was extremely predictable. The Aged Care Royal Commission set out comprehensive recommendations to avert such a disaster by increasing staff numbers and paying proper wages, ensuring up-to-date vaccinations and giving families regular access to their loved ones. Its report was handed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison just 10 months ago. Few of those measures have been put in place. Also, check the story about the Lilian Wells aged care facility at North Parramatta at the end of the article at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-06/nsw-records-34-994-covid-cases-and-six-deaths/100740744]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-07/covid-omicron-aged-cases-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.‘A landlord’s market’: Big drop in rentals signals tough times for tenants
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Rental vacancy rates around Australia continue to be low and will probably tighten further over 2022, with a new report signalling good returns for investors but terrible tidings for tenants. Although the number of available rentals rose slightly in December, that is more a reflection of the traditional rental changeover period with the end of leases and increased choice overall, according to Domain’s monthly Rental Vacancy Rate Report.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/a-landlord-s-market-big-dro…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.COVID outbreaks lock down nearly 500 aged care homes nationally
Mary Ward and Lucy Carroll The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Nearly 500 aged care facilities in Australia are currently affected by COVID-19 exposures, placing tens of thousands of elderly residents in lockdown. There were 1370 active cases in aged care residents across the country and 1835 in staff. The industry has warned critical staff shortages are placing the wellbeing of residents at risk, with high rates of COVID-19 in the community hitting both centre employees and the agency workforce.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/covid-outbreaks-lock-down-nearly…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Older people.