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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
If your house is sweltering during summer, here are some tips to cool it down
Christine Layton ABC (No paywall)How has your house held up under the most recent heatwave? Have you made any structural changes to try and cope better? If you've added things like roller shutters, shade cloth or a pergola you're on the right track. Architect Peter Hobbs joins Christine Layton to discuss how to cool your house during a heat wave. Listen to their conversation to learn more. (ABC WA Afternoons)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/perth/programs/wa-afternoons/climat…
# Audio Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change.Sydney house prices surge almost $1100 a day, but the market may have peaked
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney house prices have hit a record median of $1.6 million, new figures show, after climbing almost $1100 a day in 2021. Greater Sydney house prices skyrocketed by 33.1 per cent – almost $400,000 – last year, climbing 6 per cent in the final quarter alone to a median of $1,601,467, Domain’s Quarterly House Price Report reveals. It’s the steepest annual increase since Domain records began in 1993, with house prices in half a dozen regions rising more than $500,000. Unit price growth was more subdued but still rose 8.3 per cent annually – and a marginal 0.9 per cent last quarter – to a record high of $802,255.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/sydney-house-prices-surge-a…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market.Starting a house hunt? Beware the ‘wounded under-bidder’
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Potential property buyers who missed out in 2021 are approaching this year’s market with renewed determination, wary that December’s price slowdown might reverse once the new year begins in earnest ...
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/starting-a-house-hunt-bewar…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.SA councils complain $27m e-planning system is not delivering promised savings
Declan Gooch ABC (No paywall)South Australian councils are complaining that a new planning system hailed as the "single biggest reform" to planning in state history is costing them time and money. The e-planning system was rolled out over two years to all councils and centralises all stages of the development application process. The $27 million online portal was designed to make it easier for applicants and assessors to manage applications as they move through the process. But the president of SA's Local Government Association, Angela Evans, said 98 per cent of the councils it surveyed reported ongoing costs or resourcing burdens associated with the new system.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/e-planning-system-south-a…
# Australia, Local Government, Planning and development.Property sales to foreigners down as new type of buyer emerges
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)The number of foreign buyers snapping up Australian property has taken a significant hit, new figures show, but those that are buying here are much more likely to stay for the long term.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/property-sales-to-foreigner…
# Australia, Housing market.Why fear of missing out in the property market should ease this year
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Aspiring Sydney property buyers are set to have more choice this year as sellers try to take advantage of favourable conditions, resulting in an expected glut of listings. At the end of last year, Sydney recorded the highest number of new homes on the market since 2015, CoreLogic data shows.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/why-fear-of-missing-out-in-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.Auction market off to early start as listings spike
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Australia’s auction market got off to a busier start than usual, with more sellers hitting the market over the traditionally quieter summer holiday period in a bid to get ahead of the competition before an increase in listings gives buyers more choice.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/auction-market-off-to-early…
# Australia, Housing market.With house prices through the roof, is it time for Plan B?
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Units are poised to pick up in popularity, as last year’s runaway house price growth is tipped to force buyers into more affordable properties and some investors jump back into the market.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/with-house-prices-through-t…
# Australia, Strata, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.