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 your pet changes your brain chemistry for the better
Kerryn Phelps The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)For many people, the decision to get a pet is a natural one, because they grew up with pets and a home feels incomplete without one. Some people are looking for company as an antidote to sadness or loneliness, or because they seek unconditional loyalty or motivation to get up in the morning. Some parents want their children to learn the responsibility of caring for a pet. ... The profound psychological effects of having a family pet are well documented. Animal lovers know that having a pet can make you feel calmer, less anxious and more loved. ... In 2013, a group of cardiologists reviewed the evidence on pet ownership and heart disease for the American Heart Association. They concluded that “Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with decreased cardiovascular disease risk.” ... In older people, we know that pet ownership can improve a person’s mental health by providing companionship, meaning and purpose, relieving loneliness and encouraging social interaction.
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/how-your-pe…
# Australia, Health, Pets.Climate change to deliver suburban house price pain: RBA
Shane Wright and Mike Foley The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Climate change could cut property prices across a swath of Sydney’s northern suburbs from Lane Cove to Ku-ring-gai, with Reserve Bank analysis showing many homeowners face declining equity in their houses and rising insurance costs. ... The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest report confirmed the world was on track to experience extreme weather due to global warming even if swift action was taken to limit global warming to 2 degrees. It predicted Australia, which has warmed 1.4 degrees since 1910, would experience rising average temperatures with extreme heat, more frequent and intense bushfires, droughts, floods and rising sea levels. The RBA economists said the risks in climate-sensitive suburbs could further increase if the insurance costs for affected areas became prohibitive.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/climate-change-to-delive…
# NSW, Climate change, Housing market.China's real estate house of cards could be brought down by Evergrande, the world's most indebted company
Bill Birtles and Paddy Fok ABC (No paywall)Chinese property giant Evergrande is being picked over by outside advisers who are trying to untangle more than $400 billion of debt. One of the nation's largest real estate developers, the company claims to own more than "1,300 projects in more than 280 cities in China ... And until this year, Chinese property was booming. ... Despite skyrocketing property prices in China's top cities, a glut of apartment blocks in smaller, less desirable cities has curtailed demand for Evergrande's projects and hurt sales. Worsening the company's crisis, it is yet to finish building an estimated 1.4 million apartments that it previously sold off-the-plan to buyers, creating yet another group of people eager to recoup their money amid concerns construction will stop. You will find a similar analysis by Eryk Bagshaw entitled 'Running on empty: how Evergrande became the world’s most indebted property company' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/what-caused-the-evergrande-crisis-20210922-p58tru.html]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-21/china-property-bust-everg…
# International, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.RBA weighs risks of hot property market
Emma Koehn The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)At 1.40pm ... The Reserve Bank of Australia says it is watching Australia’s booming housing prices closely but is holding off from any macro-prudential interventions at this stage. In a speech delivered to a Bloomberg event today assistant governor Michele Bullock said the bank was weighing the risks of Australia’s post-COVID property boom closely.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/asx-to-open-lower-iron-o…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Hot property market and Covid trigger horror rental stories
Judith Kerr (Paywall)Covid and an overheated property market have created a battlefield between landlords and tenants, with horror stories of cockroaches, broken doors, clogged toilets and even a family who had to endure weeks without a roof. (The Courier Mail)
https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/logan/hot-property-mark…
# Australia, Rent, Repairs, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents.‘Unbiased and equitable’: Peak legal body calls for fairer NSW land acquisition laws
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW’s peak legal body is calling for a significant review into the state’s compulsory acquisition laws to even the stakes between the government and landowners, who say they’ve been squeezed by officials buying lots for major infrastructure projects.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/unbiased-and-equitable-peak-…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.Reserve Bank says Australia’s house prices could pose ‘risk to financial stability’
Amy Remeikis The Guardian (No paywall)Australia’s ballooning housing prices – and the associated household debt for mortgage holders – could pose a risk to the economy’s financial stability in the event of a sudden downturn in prices.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/22/reserve-b…
# Australia, Housing market.Soaring housing debt a financial risk: Reserve Bank
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Spiralling household debt tied to the nation’s soaring property prices could pose a risk to the financial system, the Reserve Bank has cautioned as home values across capital cities continue to climb.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/soaring-housing-debt-a-f…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, State Government.