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
5 key questions to ask a potential aged care home
Rachel Lane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Choosing an aged care home for yourself or a loved one can be overwhelming. Sadly, for many families, it is a decision undertaken in haste, with children often tasked with making a list of acceptable homes within a matter of days. [Read on]
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/5-key-question…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.The top 5 reasons why house prices keep going up and up
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)There are a few things in life that are quintessentially Australian – among them Vegemite, the Sydney Opera House and discussing the runaway property market. ... Hugh Hartigan, a senior adviser at the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, says housing serves two purposes: it’s a financial asset and provides shelter. Demand for shelter increases when the population rises, while demand for housing as a financial asset is heavily influenced by economic factors, particularly interest rates.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-top-5-reasons-wh…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Planning and development, Tax, Welfare.Why did the Miami apartment building collapse? And are others in danger?
Trivess Moore and David Oswald The Conversation (No paywall)It’s unclear at this stage why the building collapsed, but it has been speculated that it had been sinking over time, which may have contributed to the collapse. It’s likely the actual cause of the collapse won’t be known for months, if ever. Check out the later stories at: [https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/report-showed-major-damage-before-miami-condo-collapse-20210627-p584kc.html] and [https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/death-toll-in-miami-building-collapse-rises-as-search-teams-persevere-20210628-p584rh.html]
https://theconversation.com/why-did-the-miami-apartment-building…
# International, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Household wealth is soaring, but who's benefiting?
Gareth Hutchens ABC (No paywall)Late last year, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) published a report showing the main components of wealth in Australia. Using the latest available data from the Bureau of Statistics (for 2017-18), it showed the average wealth per household in Australia in 2018 was made up of: Main home (39 per cent); Superannuation (20 per cent); Shares and other financial assets (19 per cent); Investments in other real estate (12 per cent); Other non-financial assets (10 per cent) ... The value of assets is skyrocketing at the moment, but incomes are hardly growing. So if you're lucky enough to own any assets (like a residential property, or superannuation savings), your wealth is likely increasing. But if you don't own any assets, you're missing out. ... when Credit Suisse released its annual Global Wealth Report 2021 ... Its report tracked global changes in wealth in 2020. Interestingly, it showed Australia is topping the global rankings for median wealth per adult, as measured in US dollars ($US238,070 per adult).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-27/australian-household-weal…
# Australia, Home ownership, Landlords and agents.What it's like to live on the road in a van or bus
Patrick Wright ABC (No paywall)For the last four years, Kevin Craft and his family have been living in an eight-metre-long bus. ... Kevin and his wife Cristina were living in Sydney until 2017, when they swapped their rental house for a bus. Since then, they've spent months travelling through South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. With the arrival of their son Marco 18 months ago, the family have slowed down — they're now based in Byron Bay. They're still living in the bus but aren't travelling as much.
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/what-its-like-to-live-on-the-roa…
# Australia, Land lease communities.Single parents are getting a housing lifeline, but will it simply widen the gender divide?
Rhiana Whitson ABC (No paywall)Single mother Verity Ikin has just made a successful offer on a house in the Huon Valley, outside of Hobart. It was a bit of a gamble because she only has a small deposit saved and is relying on being a successful applicant to the federal government's Family Home Guarantee scheme to avoid paying costly lender's mortgage insurance (LMI). ... The Family Home Guarantee scheme is scheduled to open on July 1 and is budgeted to help 10,000 single parents over four years buy a house.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-26/single-parents-housing-sc…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Women.Could tiny homes idea solve Australia's housing crisis at same time as its building skills shortage?
David Chen ABC (No paywall)[Toowomba-based not-for-profit, DGT Training and Employment] CEO Kris McCue said he believed tiny homes could not only train the next generation of tradies but could also provide a short-term solution to regional Australia's housing and skills shortages. "Rental vacancies are below 1 per cent in many, many areas — things like a tiny home can be a good, you know, shorter-term solution for that," he said. ... Ms Parker said the greatest challenge facing the tiny home movement was council planning regulations. "Our local laws don't adequately cover tiny homes as a housing option. They are classified as caravans," she said. "If you want to live in a caravan on a block of land, you need to get a temporary housing permit and you can only get that if you have a development application for a bricks and mortar style house, so that's the challenge at the moment."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-26/tiny-homes-may-train-futu…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Affordable housing, Housing market, Planning and development.‘Bit of a culture shock’: COVID-19 made a tree change alluring – but that trend may not last
Emilia Terzon The New Daily (No paywall)A tree change has never been more alluring but population experts believe some city dwellers going regional during the pandemic will find “it’s not all it’s cracked up to be” and the migration trend won’t last long term.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/06/25/tree-chan…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Regional NSW.