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
Property price rises are a welcome sign of a return to normal
Editorial The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)There can be no clearer sign that the economy is getting back to normal than the conversations around town expressing excitement and outrage at the rise in property prices. ... But it is also the result of federal and state government policies, including the massive government stimulus and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s near-zero interest rates ... However, the price jump has many people concerned that either a housing bubble of inflated prices will burst, leaving them worse off, or else prices will continue to rise indefinitely making it impossible for renters and young people to save enough for a deposit to buy their own home. ... The federal government should also look at recalibrating property taxes on negative gearing and capital gains which currently unduly favour investment in housing.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/property-price-rises…
# Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, State Government, Tax, Young people.The reality of WA’s rental market: more than 19,000 households in need but only one affordable home
Marta Pascual Juanola The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Western Australia’s 19,300 households in urgent need of an affordable home are staring into the homelessness abyss with only one property in the entire state within reach for low-income earners. ... Tony Pietropiccolo, the chief executive of counselling service Centrecare, said “We’re getting thousands of calls a month with people absolutely desperate to find a home. We cannot keep up.” Meanwhile, a growing number of people are resorting to living in cars, tents, and friends’ homes to make ends meet.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/the-reality-of…
# Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government.‘Weapons grade bulls---’: Property data challenges sales blather
Noel Towell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Former dotcom entrepreneur Evan Thornley is using data to turn long-held myths in Australia’s real estate industry – including where best to buy to get the most capital growth – on their head. ... The entrepreneur says he is puzzled that in an industry where so much comprehensive data is available, “weapons grade bullshit” remains widespread.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/weapons-grade-bulls-…
# Australia, Housing market.'Affordable decent housing’ – the 2nd most important liveability attribute
Dan Evans (No paywall)Affordable decent housing’ is the 2nd most important attribute that Australians believe contributes to making somewhere a good place to live, with 51% nominating among their top five liveability attributes – behind ‘feeling safe’ (72%) and ahead of ‘high quality health services’ (48%). ‘Access to the natural environment’ (47%) and ‘a diverse range of shopping, leisure and dining experiences’ (33%) were the 4th and 5th most important. (.id blog)
https://blog.id.com.au/2021/community-views/affordable-decent-ho…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Housing market.Chip off the old blocks: would Australia’s empty office towers be better off as housing?
Lisa Green The Guardian (No paywall)"It’s crazy to leave existing infrastructure empty when we have people sleeping in the streets,” says Robert Pradolin, founder and executive director of Housing All Australians. As office blocks stand half empty in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, at the same time as a severe shortage in affordable housing makes headlines, it is tempting to think the former issue might be a solution to the latter. ... However, leading design industry practitioners say the only Australian office buildings viable for conversion to residential flats were built before the 1980s.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/07/chip-off-th…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Aged care before tax cuts: Experts say budget needs revenue, not tax relief
Jennifer Duke and Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Two of the nation’s top policy experts, Bernie Fraser and Andrew Podger, have urged Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to dump at least part of his stage three personal income tax cuts and use the money to increase spending on aged care and other critical services.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/aged-care-before-tax-cut…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing market, Older people.Public housing shortage a 'much bigger problem than people imagine' but Brisbane Housing Company has big plans
Emilie Gramenz ABC (No paywall)Frankie Mitchell and her husband Tony found themselves with few options when the property they had lived in for five years was sold. ... The couple are among the new tenants at a recently constructed affordable housing complex at Woolloongabba in Brisbane. There are 32 new units allocated for people on low incomes, workers in essential industries, and five young people supported through the Brisbane Youth Service. The project was jointly funded by the Queensland government and community housing provider, Brisbane Housing Company (BHC).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-07/qld-public-housing-brisba…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, State Government.Houses have never been more affordable
Paul Johnson ABC (No paywall)Towards end of item about Q+A ... Alan Kohler says 'due to interest rates Australian housing has "never been more affordable"' ... and this drew a surprised response. ... [but] those who are renting are the ones in trouble. ... "One of the problems with being a tenant is the laws in Australia favour landlords, and they're only just starting to change," he said. "In Europe it's OK to be a tenant and people are tenants all their lives, because you get protected. In America there's rent control, we have none of that in Australia ... Tenants are really screwed here."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-07/q-a-india-travel-ban-coer…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.