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
MPs rush to the market as property runs hot
Samantha Hutchinson and Stephen Brook The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Federal MPs are often accused of being out of touch and trapped inside the Canberra bubble. But it’s become apparent that there’s one aspect of the real world they remain acutely aware of – how to cash in on the property boom. Just ask Wentworth MP Dave Sharma ... [Read on ...]
https://www.smh.com.au/national/mps-rush-to-the-market-as-proper…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.More affordable housing for lower income households
(No paywall)There will be more housing for low-income households in the inner city following the City of Sydney’s decision to turn an unused Council-owned site in Alexandria into 21 affordable apartments. ... Bridge Housing will develop and manage affordable housing on site, with at least two of the homes earmarked for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents. (Mirage News)
https://www.miragenews.com/more-affordable-housing-for-lower-inc…
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Local Government.‘A burden, not a celebration of history’: NSW government pushes heritage law review
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government is pushing to make it easier and less expensive to own or adapt heritage-listed buildings under the first major overhaul of the state’s heritage laws in more than two decades.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-burden-not-a-celebration-o…
# NSW, Heritage listings, Housing market.COVID-19 Research Hub
AHURI (No paywall)AHURI's COVID-19 Research Hub is the home for the latest research, policy analysis and news on housing, homelessness and urban responses to COVID-19. Check it out.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/covid-19?utm_source=website&ut…
# Research alert Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Homelessness, Planning and development.How to reduce the effects of natural disasters rather than just clean up after them
Sue Williams Domain (Paywall)Natural disasters are not new in this sunburnt country, our land of drought and flooding rains. The difference between now and 1906 when Dorothea Mackellar wrote My Country is that these days the disasters are more regular, have more ferocity and, with climate change, the outlook is even more dire. ... We’ve become extraordinarily good at mopping up after floods, bushfires, cyclones, storm surges and being smashed by hailstones. But, the bad news is that we’ve paid little attention to mitigating devastation.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/how-can-we-precent-rather-than-ju…
# Australia, Housing market.‘Last kick of the can’: Property market reckoning coming
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)he Reserve Bank’s charter requires it to work towards the economic prosperity and welfare of all Australians, but for most people that can be narrowed down to one issue – house prices. ... Commonwealth Bank’s head of Australian economics, Gareth Aird, says ... “Every time the central bank cuts interest rates, a person walks into a bank and asks for a bigger loan to pay for a house. It happens again and again,” he says. “You get to that point where you can’t keep doing that when you have interest rates at zero. We’ve now had the last of the kicks of the can down the road.”
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/last-kick-of-the-can-pro…
# Hot topic Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Can current rates of housing development be sustained?
Andrew Hedge (No paywall)Based on what we know of population change in the next few years, demand for dwellings is likely to slow considerably. However, many fringe areas of Australia are seeing significant sales and construction of residential lots. ... One of the key demographic drivers of growth in these areas in recent years has been overseas migrants. We’ve seen the short-term impacts. In the short term, the demand for dwellings driven by overseas migration shows up in the inner cities. We’ve already seen a significant increase in the vacancy rate in inner-city areas. [Read on ...] (.id insight, Apriol 2021)
https://blog.id.com.au/2021/population-forecasting/can-current-r…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Woodworker John shares joy of books
(No paywall)Woodworker John Murray [and Link Housing tenant] started building street libraries when a friend asked him to build her one to help recirculate book for others to enjoy. (The Senior NSW/ACT April 2021, p 8)
https://digital-print-edition.austcommunitymedia.com.au/SNRNSW/2…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Neighbours.