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
Sydney Covid-19 block tenants told to ‘keep mouth shut’
Candace Sutton news.com.au (No paywall)Another housing tower Covid-19 cluster has emerged in a second inner-city Sydney location with one of the infected residents being told to “keep your mouth shut” about the outbreak. The new cluster – which comes a day after news.com.au exclusively revealed a Redfern housing tower had seen multiple Covid cases – is at a Darlinghurst block with a very vulnerable community. Tony Slan, one of the freshly-infected residents, told news.com.au that when he told the public housing authority about the rapidly spreading virus he was told to shut up and “mind your own business – we don’t want to scare anybody”. Worried about the health of others while he himself is suffering from symptoms, Mr Slan said: “What if someone dies?” He took it upon himself to post signs in the apartment block foyer warning residents of the outbreak, and told news.com.au he was castigated by authorities for doing so.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/sydney-covid19-block-te…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, State Government.Australia’s housing market boom ranked seventh in the world: Knight Frank report
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Australia’s housing boom is one of the fastest growing in the world, a new report has revealed, as the country recorded its highest rate of annual price growth in decades. Australia ranked seventh out of 55 countries for annual price growth, at 16.4 per cent for the year ending June, the fastest annual pace since 2003, Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index for the second quarter of 2021 found. It is up from the previous quarter, when it ranked 18th with 8.3 per cent annual growth, and up from the past year, when it ranked 19th with 6.1 per cent annual growth.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australias-housing-market-boom-ra…
# Australia, Housing market, International.Property investors warned away from buying inner-city units
Sezen Bakan The New Daily (No paywall)Property investors keen on snapping up inner-city pads in Sydney and Melbourne have been warned not to expect to make a quick buck on their investment. Small city apartments have traditionally been popular with the likes of young professionals and international students. But closed international borders and more opportunities to work from home mean fewer people are interested in city living, which in turn has led to lower returns for property investors.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/09/19/investors…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.How to more easily cash in on electricity savings
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Consumers will soon be able to benefit from savings made by switching electricity retailers much faster. ... Changes to speed up the customer transfer process were initially recommended by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s 2018 Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry and finalised following consultations between the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) and Australian Energy Market Operator.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/how-to-more-…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas.Federal government urged to intervene with states on stamp duty
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The federal government should provide incentives for states to scrap lucrative stamp duties, housing industry groups and academics say, amid warnings the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating wealth inequality. Multiple submissions to a federal inquiry into housing affordability raised the need to replace state government levied transfer duties with broad-based land taxes, suggesting Canberra could use national cabinet meetings to co-ordinate countrywide reform.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/federal-government-urged…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Tax.Housing turnover reaches its highest level in nearly 12 years: Core Logic
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Home sales this year have hit the highest number since 2004 with a buying frenzy fuelled by rock-bottom mortgage rates, a loosening of credit policies, government incentives and record COVID-19 savings. Nearly 598,000 houses and apartments sold across the country over the year to August 2021, the latest report from CoreLogic has revealed. This is 42 per cent up on the previous 12 months, and 31 per cent above the decade average. ... The disruption caused by the lockdowns, however, has made trends harder to discern, with distortions – like Sydney, for instance, allowing in-person home inspections for purchasers, but Melbourne and Canberra both not permitting them – affecting sales and listings.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/housing-turnover-reaches-its-high…
# Australia, Privacy and access, Housing market.‘Housing crisis a slogan’: Departing NSW planning boss calls for ceasefire
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The state’s departing head of planning has called for a ceasefire between the government and developers and a renewed focus on pushing through major housing and urban design reforms before the political appetite is lost. Jim Betts, who is leaving his post as secretary for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment to head the Department of Premier and Cabinet, asked during a property developer forum that industry members and other stakeholders to “lay down the inflammatory rhetoric” as it was difficult to drive change while under attack.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/housing-crisis-a-slogan-depa…
# NSW, Rent, Federal Government, Housing market, Planning and development.Domain bolsters data solutions with IDS acquisition
Colin Kruger The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Go to 10:51 am at this link: Listings website Domain Holdings has agreed to acquire Insight Data Solutions (IDS) for up to $159 million to help expand its property data solutions business. Domain, majority owned by the publisher of this website, Nine entertainment, says the acquisition establishes it as a market leading provider of land and property valuation, insights and analytics services to the Government sector.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/as-it-happened-asx-close…
# Australia, Housing market.