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
WA tradies are hot property as home building goes through the roof
Tess Ingram The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)From Western Australia ... The local building market has become so competitive builders are approaching trades on rival job sites with offers of bonuses and other incentives to try and lure them to their projects. ... builders and construction trades are busier than they have been in years, thanks to state and federal government incentives which have sparked a dramatic increase in demand for new homes in recent months.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/wa-tradies-are…
# Australia, Housing market.Liberal MPs say super guarantee rise could be used to pay for aged care
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)Liberal MPs have proposed setting aside the increase in the super guarantee from 10 to 12% to fund healthcare in later life and aged care, as a means to pay for royal commission recommendations without an income tax levy.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/25/liberal-m…
# Australia, Federal Government, Older people.Low rates to drive house prices up 17 per cent this year
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)House prices are tipped to grow at their fastest pace since the late 1980s, led by a 19 per cent surge across the Sydney market this year, as buyers take advantage of record-low interest rates, government programs and money saved during the coronavirus recession.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/low-rates-to-drive-house…
# Hot topic Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market.NZ government takes bold action to curb soaring house prices
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)The New Zealand government has made a bold $3.8 billion move in swiftly closing tax loopholes in a bid to put a lid on rising house prices in the country and stop property speculators entering the market. It hopes the raft of policy changes will shift the balance of the property market more in favour of first-home buyers and owner-occupiers, with tax incentives for investors reduced from this weekend, Stuff reported.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/nz-government-takes-bold-action-t…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Tax.How to repair aged care and heal the nation’s broken heart
Mike Baird The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)In their hour of need we have turned our backs. Not overnight. More in a drip-like fashion over the past 20 to 25 years. ... I think there are two key issues. [Read on]
https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-to-repair-aged-care-and-heal…
# Australia, Federal Government, Older people.House prices could rise 17 per cent this year, locking some first-home hopefuls out: ANZ
Elizabeth Redman Domain (Paywall)Australian housing prices are set to soar 17 per cent this year across the capital cities, a sharp rise that could lock some aspiring first-home buyers out of the market, ANZ economists have warned.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-prices-could-rise-17-per-ce…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Global shortages, HomeBuilder demand causing building delays and price rises
Matthew Doran ABC (No paywall)A sharp increase in global demand for building products during the COVID-19 pandemic has caused price rises and delays on Australian construction sites and is prompting calls for changes to the federal government's HomeBuilder scheme.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-25/building-delays-homebuild…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market.Construction industry scrambles for tradies, materials amid HomeBuilder boom
Noel Towell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The popularity of the federal government’s HomeBuilder stimulus program is causing headaches for Victorian builders, who say they are struggling to hire tradies and get hold of key construction materials.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/construction-industr…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market.