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
‘Twilight’ for Australia’s housing boom as prices to fall 10% in 2023, CBA says
Peter Hannam The Guardian (No paywall)Australia’s “red hot” property market has started to cool, with prices to peak next year and sink 10% in 2023 as higher borrowing costs and “natural fatigue” set in, the nation’s largest mortgage lender predicts. Home prices in Sydney, which will post among the fastest gains in 2021 with a forecast 27% jump, will moderate to a 6% advance in 2022, according to Gareth Aird, head of Australian economics for the Commonwealth Bank. By 2023, though, the harbour city’s prices will fall 12%, the equal most of any capital city, matching Hobart’s predicted retreat.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/22/twilight-…
# Australia, Housing market.All new homes must have car charging points from next year under government plans
James Wilmore Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... New homes will be legally required to have electric vehicle (EV) charging points from next year, according to an announcement from Boris Johnson. Under the plans, existing building regulations will be altered to require every new home, including flats and dwellings created from a change of use, to have EV charging point infrastructure. This will mean that there will need to be “at least” one charging point per dwelling with “associated parking”. In addition, residential buildings undergoing major renovation with more than 10 parking spaces will need to have at least one electric vehicle charge point for each dwelling with associated parking. And all new and existing non-residential buildings must also have EV charging points under the new laws. The government has estimated that the new regulations, outlined in a delayed response to a Department for Transport (DfT) consultation, will mean that an extra 145,000 charging points are installed in England each year as part of its wider plan to cut carbon emissions.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/all-new-homes-must-hav…
# International, Climate change, Housing market.Minneapolis, St. Paul Voters Say ‘Yes’ to Rent Stabilization
Edwarrd G Goetz (No paywall)From United States ... Tenants won big in Minneapolis and St. Paul after ballot initiatives on rent stabilization passed by comfortable margins on Election Day. In Minneapolis, voters approved a change to the city charter to allow the council to consider and enact rent stabilization. Minnesota, like many states, restricts the ability of local governments to consider and enact rent controls. Approval of the voters was necessary to allow the council to move forward.
https://shelterforce.org/2021/11/15/minneapolis-st-paul-voters-s…
# International, Rent, Housing market.‘Pointy stick of regulation’ will not transform social housing, says consumer regulation chief
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Social landlords must recognise the need for “cultural recalibration” as the “pointy stick of regulation” is not enough to transform the sector, the director of consumer regulation at the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has said. Speaking at the Homes UK conference yesterday, Kate Dodsworth warned that landlords that “tick boxes” will be on the “wrong side of housing history”. ... She said the overall vision ... [is] about a “recalibration of the sector for a culture shift” to get “back to the core purpose and mission for tenants ... [and] around quality home services and transparency and respect for tenants,” she added.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/pointy-stick-of-regula…
# International, Public and community housing.Cost of housing front and centre as Sydney mayoral candidates face off
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Housing affordability has emerged as a key battleground issue in local council elections as an all-women field of candidates for Sydney lord mayor squared off at a debate less than two weeks before voters will go to the polls.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cost-of-housing-front-and-ce…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Local Government.Booming property prices prompt call for greater housing diversity in SEQ
Tony Moore (Paywall)A wider mix of dwelling types will be needed to manage growth in south-east Queensland, according to the organisation that represents town planners. The Queensland branch of the Planning Institute of Australia has called for “greater diversity of housing”, a state settlement policy, and community-based planning for a larger population to avoid the growing pains that have priced many people out of the market. (Brisbane Times)
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/booming-pro…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.Low interest rates and the housing stimulus keep Australia’s construction strong – but what lies in store?
Greg Jericho The Guardian (No paywall)Ahead of next week’s GDP figures the latest data on construction suggests the lockdowns in New South Wales will massively affect that state’s economic figures, but that outside the south-eastern parts of the country things have been carrying along nicely. The September quarter GDP figures due next Wednesday are likely to be among the worst ever seen. Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy told the Senate last month that he expected the economy will have fallen 3%. That would not be as bad as the 7% fall last year, but the lockdowns in NSW, ACT and then Victoria during July, August and September clearly have had a massive impact.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/nov/25/low…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Asbestos concerns after rise in Australian DIY projects
Laine Clark The New Daily (No paywall)Australians have admitted to disposing of asbestos illegally – even dumping it in their neighbour’s bin – during a COVID-19 home improvement surge, raising cancer fears.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/11/22/asbestos-…
# Australia, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Home ownership.