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 to avoid costly mistakes in the rush to buy property
Melissa Jenkins The New Daily (No paywall)It’s a hot property market right now, but mistakes fuelled by desperation to snare a home can be costly.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/12/05/property-…
# Australia, Housing market.Randwick manor sells for $8.97 million at auction, breaking suburb record
Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A Victorian manor in Randwick sold for $8.97 million at auction on Saturday, breaking the suburb record.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/randwick-victorian-manor-se…
# NSW, Housing market.Missed the boom? Quality properties can still appreciate
George Cochrane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I am aged 54, employed, own my home and several small, paid-off apartments. ... As I approach retirement, I wonder what to do with them. Would it be usual to sell them at a suitable time for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes and avoid all the hassles with tenants and property managers etc. when I retire?
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/missed-the-boo…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents.When house prices soar, everyone forgets who suffers most
Ross Gittins The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Because the pollies believe us all to be self-centred, they never try to appeal to the greater good. If the world worked the way it should, you’d expect housing affordability – and what each side was promising to do about it – to be a big issue in the coming campaign, but I doubt it will be. The Libs won’t want to draw attention to it, and though Labor will make noises about how terrible it is for young people, it’s unlikely to have any serious proposal to take the heat out of house prices. It did take a plan to discourage negatively geared property investment to the last election, but now believes this contributed to its defeat, so has dropped it. ... In all the agonising over house prices and home ownership – which has gone on for as long as I’ve been a journalist – we always forget the renters.If you define housing as having a place to live rather than to own, renters also suffer when house prices soar. ... If, under pressure from all us affluent home owners, neither side of politics is willing to make home ownership more affordable by removing the many tax breaks that make it so attractive as a form of investment, then the least they – and we – can do is reduce the housing pain of those who really struggle to rent a place.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/when-house-prices-so…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Federal Government, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people, Tax.A year of crisis and resilience
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)No matter what challenges this year has thrown at us, the team at the Tenants’ Union of NSW remained focused on helping people in some of the toughest moments of their lives – many who faced the risk of losing their home in the middle of the ongoing health and economic crisis. Like renters across NSW, our staff have shown incredible resilience in the face of crisis, delivering services and information online and at-home when people really needed them. The actions and impacts we have had this year are too many to mention, but our Annual Report covers the highlights ...
https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=29c79d2825cb376b3f0b06385&id…
# NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform.Australia's housing affordability crisis is an even bigger challenge for young people with a disability
Emily I'Ons ABC (No paywall)It's no secret that the costs of purchasing a home have increased rapidly, particularly in the past year. Recently described by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet as one of the biggest challenges in a generation, many young people and first home buyers are finding themselves unable to break into a rising market, a problem being exacerbated by stagnate wages and increasing costs of living. For young people with a disability, however, purchasing a home can be an even greater financial challenge, partly because the hidden costs of having a disability can make it much more difficult to save a deposit and pay off a mortgage. While having access to secure housing is important for all Australians, for people with disabilities it can significantly increase opportunities for community participation and quality of life.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-29/housing-affordability-dis…
# Australia, Rent, Disability, Health, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Mega Landlords: Over 22,100 homes owned by small group of very large investors
Geraden Cann (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Mega Landlords is a Stuff series about the country’s largest property owners, how successive governments allowed investors to gain astonishing wealth while leaving everyday Kiwis behind, and how little is known about who really owns New Zealand. Over 22,100 homes are owned by an elite class of large investors who each own more than 20 properties, new analysis by property data company Valocity reveals. That’s the equivalent of Invercargill or Nelson, owned by 906 people or private companies, whose portfolios continue to grow. The analysis, conducted for this Stuff series, appears to quash the long-held belief the market is predominantly made up of mum and dad investors, and reveals the vast majority of Kiwis own no investment property. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/3…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 Statutory Review
NSW Department of Customer Service (No paywall)The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (the Act) provides the regulatory framework for the management of permanent sites in residential land lease communities and outlines the rights and obligations of community operators and home owners. ... On 30 November 2020, the Department of Customer Service (DCS) released a discussion paper for an approximate 14 week public consultation period. The discussion paper asked a range of questions to elicit feedback on whether the Act effectively balances the rights and interests of home owners and operators. ... All feedback received through the public consultation has made a valuable contribution to the review and has been carefully considered and analysed. Following this analysis, this report makes 48 recommendations to improve the operation of the Act.
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/tp/files/81194/DCS%20-%20Statu…
# New policy announcement NSW, Land lease communities.