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
Court to decide on plans for 350 units at Sydney Park as locals seek green space
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Inner west residents have called for an apartment development next to Sydney Park to be scrapped and the building site incorporated into the park, as the developer takes legal action against a local council after its plans were refused.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/court-to-decide-on-plans-for…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.‘Horrific for the community’: confessions of a real estate agent in priced-out Byron Bay
Travis Lipshus The Guardian (No paywall)The influx of wealthy urban buyers has sent property prices in the northern NSW resort town skyrocketing and locals are losing out
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/17/horrific-f…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.China’s spiralling property crisis leaves millions in limbo
Alexandra Stevenson and Joy Dong The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)China is trying to cool its costly and dangerously debt-ridden housing market, where high prices and go-go levels of borrowing and spending are increasingly seen as a national threat. But as the troubles of a major property developer and its $US300 billion ($408 billion) mountain of debt drive a government effort to contain the peril, Beijing risks hurting a major driver of its crucial economic growth engine: homebuyers like He Qiang. He was so optimistic about property in China that he bought an apartment from that property developer, China Evergrande Group, then became a real estate agent himself, selling the company’s apartments to hundreds of other families. ... Nearly three-quarters of household wealth in China is now tied to property. ... He Qiang is still waiting to hear from Evergrande about his apartment. Although the developer has not sent him a notice of delay, he can see that construction on his building stopped several months ago, and has had to reconsider his plans to get married in May. The apartment was supposed to be finished by the end of the year, giving him time to decorate so that the space could feature prominently in the wedding festivities.
“Now with this delayed construction,” He said, “the wedding will be postponed, too.”
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-s-spiralling-p…
# International, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Sydney house rents hit record high and unit prices back on the rise: Domain Rent Report
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)The cost of renting a house in Sydney has reached new heights, with asking rents increasing by at least $50 a week in three months in some regions, despite the city’s lockdown.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-house-rents-hit-record-hig…
# NSW, Rent, Housing market.As Melburnians such as Olivia and Daniel buy cheaper land in Geelong, supply is close to running out
Erin Cooper ABC (No paywall)Up until the pandemic, Olivia Lewis and Daniel McCormack had always thought they would buy their first home somewhere in Melbourne. They've now chosen to put down a deposit for land in Geelong, but the Cranbourne couple said it wasn't much of a choice at all. "It is financially impossible for any first home buyer to purchase out in this area … moving away is really the only feasible option for us," Mr McCormack said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-14/geelong-building-boom-lea…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.Melbourne City council urges young buyers to snap up a bargain
Noel Towell and Vanessa Di Natale The Age (Paywall)The City of Melbourne is planning an ambitious pitch to use the CBD’s struggling property market to tempt more young people to make their homes there. ... the council believes the corresponding plunge in property prices - and state government tax breaks worth tens of thousands of dollars to buyers - can be leveraged in its efforts to breathe life back into the precincts.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-city-counc…
# Australia, Home ownership, Human rights, Tax.Sydney renters pay rent up to a year in advance to live near the beach
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Locked-down Sydneysiders have been paying record rents to live within walking distance of beaches, with coastal suburbs jumping up to 34 per cent in the past year and some tenants offering up to a year’s rent in advance.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/beach-rentals-record-increases-of…
# NSW, Rent, Housing market.House prices to rise 22 per cent this year, and grow further next: Westpac
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Westpac has tipped property prices to rise by more than 20 per cent this year, increasing its price forecast yet again as the market continues to boom despite extended lockdowns. Also, ckeck the story in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/15/australian-house-prices-to-rise-22-this-year-and-then-ease-off-economists-say]
https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-prices-to-rise-22-per-cent-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.