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
I’d be crazy not to move’: Melbourne tenants upgrade as apartment rents fall to 2010 prices
Rachael Dexter The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A year ago, 32-year-old Gary Dickson was living and working cheek-by-jowl with two housemates in Carlton during the extended coronavirus lockdowns in Melbourne. With all three housemates home around the clock due to work-from-home orders, Mr Dickson spent much of the year working and sleeping in the same room and fighting for space in the shared kitchen. But now, Mr Dickson is one of many renters who have upgraded to new digs on the back of the cheapest inner-city rents in more than a decade. [Read on ...]
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/i-d-be-crazy-not-to-mov…
# Australia, Rent, Strata, Housing affordability, Housing market.Renovation nation: Australians spending a record $1 billion a month on their homes
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Australians are spending a record billion dollars a month on renovations in a boom partly fuelled by COVID government stimulus that has seen the number of home alterations surge to record highs.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/renovation-nation-australian…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing market.Treasurer to whack landlords, high-end property buyers with $2.4b tax hike
Paul Sakkal and Noel Towell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)State Treasurer Tim Pallas will hit high-end property buyers, well-off landlords and exclusive men-only clubs with big hikes on stamp duty and land tax in an attempt to begin the tough task of budget repair. ... the brunt of the new tax increases would be worn by top-end landlords, with the state’s land tax haul to soar by more than 10 per cent, or more than $1.5 billion over four years, and stamp duty to raise $761 million by adding a premium to stamp duty payments for property transactions valued at more than $2 million.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/treasurer-to-whack-land…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government, Tax.CBA keeping close eye on housing investor loans as profits surge to $2.4b
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn says he would be wary about any resurgence in speculative borrowing by property investors, even though lending standards have so far remained strong as house prices have taken off.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/cba-s-quarte…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Property analysts don’t see budget’s home deposit schemes doing single mums any favours
John Kidman The New Daily (No paywall)The federal government insists the housing provisions in its latest budget will finally make the Australian dream more accessible, especially for single mums, but not everyone is convinced.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/05/16/low-home-…
# Australia, Families, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, Women.Albanese promises $10 billion fund to cut housing costs for workers
David Crowe The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Labor has promised a $10 billion fund to cut housing costs for workers in a response to the federal budget that seeks to galvanise voter concerns about soaring house prices and rising rents. ... The housing policy aims to use $10 billion in government bonds to put cash in a new Housing Australia Future Fund to be managed by the existing Future Fund, with the earnings spent on affordable housing. The policy assumes it could invest in 20,000 social housing properties in its first five years as well as 10,000 affordable housing properties for frontline workers.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-promises-10-bil…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market.‘Didn’t expect any miracles’: Maguire friend’s rezoning win despite MP’s failed lobbying
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A property developer for whom Daryl Maguire lucklessly lobbied to rezone buildings near Campsie station will end up with the tallest towers in the area regardless under a council plan to reshape the precinct.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/didn-t-expect-any-miracles-m…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development.First-home buyers are big budget winners
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Help for first-home buyers and single parents to own a home and continuation of an income tax break for low and middle income workers are among key measures that will put more cash in the pockets of Australians following the 2021-22 federal budget.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/first-home-b…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.