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
'Overcrowding is a big problem in Fairfield'
Chris Boulous (No paywall)CORE Community Services chief executive Juana Reinoso said the quick spread of COVID-19 in Fairfield highlighted one key thing: "Overcrowding is a big problem in Fairfield." "There is a shortage of affordable accommodation; there may be two families living within the same house. So when we have heard that large families are contracting the virus, some of these cases are linked to overcrowding," she said. "Affordability is the huge issue in Fairfield and the high rental costs means it is common to see families of five people living in a two-bedroom home and grandparents, parents and children all living in the one house. ... [St Vincent de Paul Society chief executive Jack de Groot said] "Stay at home orders and lockdown assume people have a safe, secure home to reside in. For thousands of people in NSW, this is something they just don't have access to." (Fairfield City Champion)
https://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/story/7382330/overcrowding-…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families.Battery-supported microgrid in outer Melbourne development to cut bills by 50 per cent
Poppy Johnston The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Residents of a 32-home all-electric development in Wollert in Melbourne’s north can expect to cut their electricity bills in half thanks to rooftop solar and a precinct-wide microgrid. The Villawood Properties development, delivered by Metricon, will be serviced by a microgrid, which is a self-sufficient energy system that will allow renewable energy generated on the 36 homes and residents’ club to be shared.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/battery-s…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Housing market.Poor housing has direct impact on mental health during COVID lockdowns, study finds
Norman Hermant ABC (No paywall)Your mental health in the pandemic "depends on where you live", new research suggests, with noisy, dark and problem-plagued homes increasing anxiety, depression, and even loneliness during lockdowns. But the Australian study, published in the International Journal of Housing Policy, says better-designed buildings and developing a greater sense of neighbourhood could make a big difference. ... Researchers from the University of Sydney surveyed more than 2,000 people as part of a study on the pandemic's impact on Australians. ... Housing flaws, such as mould, damp, or cracked walls, were also a major predictor of depression. ... Survey respondents ranged from home owners, to renters, to those in share houses and even included those who were couch surfing. The conclusion? Renters and low-income earners were much more likely to suffer housing-related mental health issues during lockdowns.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/covid-lockdown-mental-hea…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Repairs, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Mould.Under pressure: First-home buyers vulnerable to higher rates
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Rapidly rising property prices are forcing some first-home buyers seeking to get a foothold on the property ladder to unwisely stretch their finances to the limit, a move that experts say could be detrimental to their long-term financial health. ... The Sydney first-home buyer household would spend 54 per cent of their monthly after-tax income on their mortgage. Increasing the interest rate by 1.5 percentage points would hike the household’s spend on the mortgage to 66 per cent.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/under-pressure-first-home…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Buyers plead to break contracts after purchasing in 'defective' Parramatta development
Josh Bavas ABC (No paywall)A group of apartment buyers are pleading with the NSW government to help break their contracts after purchasing off-the-plan units in a Parramatta development where defects were recently discovered.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-12/imperial-towers-defects-b…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.Rising above the tide…and other things
Russell Hay The Fifth Estate (No paywall)After a few other provocative contributions to the thinking reader, here’s the next missive from Brisbane based Russell Hall on Queensland’s penchant for raising up houses above the site.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/rising-above-the-…
# Australia, Housing market.Homeowners vote with feet to lock-in record low mortgage rates
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Mortgage refinancing hit a record high in June as variable interest rate borrowers moved to lenders offering lower rates. Many switched to fixed-rate mortgages, which have lower rates than variable-rate mortgages, to lock in long-term savings at the bottom of the interest-rate cycle.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/homeowners-vote-with-feet…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.The $500 billion money wave keeping mortgages cheap
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)As lockdowns inflict a growing financial toll on many households and businesses, there have been calls for the Reserve Bank of Australia to do more to support the economy. But official interest rates are already at a record low of 0.1 per cent, so what more can the central bank realistically do? Print more money, of course. That is effectively what the RBA has been doing since November, when it started buying many billions of dollars worth of government bonds. So, the recent debate has been more about whether the bank should be creating even more money than it already is. However, it’s fair to question how printing more cash would really help those people struggling through lockdowns.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/the-500-billion-money-wav…
# Australia, Housing market.