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
'Extremely dangerous': how much of the heat can western Sydney bear?
Mostafa Rachwani The Guardian (No paywall)Anyone who’s lived in western Sydney in summer will tell you the days of searing heat and burning bitumen feel very different from the rest of the city.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/08/extremely…
# Hot topic NSW, Utilities electricity water gas, Health, Local Government, Planning and development.Beware the lion that roars: a bite still awaits
Hal Pawson Pearls and Irritations (No paywall)There’s always strings attached and the housing market is no different. A perfect storm is building, thanks to cheap money and housing grants that have turbo-charged the market. At the start of the pandemic, there was alarm about the possible housing system damage that could result. One of our largest banks projected a possible 32% hit to house prices. Most other forecasts similarly anticipated a major downturn in property prices and construction. (Similar article by same author posted on 8 March 2021)
https://johnmenadue.com/beware-the-lion-that-roars-a-bite-still-…
# Must read Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.COVID-19 measures reduced rough sleeping but will the change be permanent?
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Fewer people are sleeping rough in NSW than this time last year but the number has crept up since the height of the COVID pandemic when the state government was paying to house rough sleepers.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/covid-measures-reduce-rough-…
# Hot topic NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Not worth the gamble: How to avoid buying a property lemon
Matt Johnson The New Daily (No paywall)Termites, defects and flammable cladding are being overlooked by buyers rushing into the FOMO-driven property market before it gets too hot. As house prices race ahead at a pace not seen in 17 years, intense competition has stoked a rise in the number of sales conducted without independent pest and building inspections.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/03/09/how-to-av…
# Australia, Home ownership, Minimum habitability standards.Brogden says long-term friendship with developer was a ‘manageable conflict’
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Landcom boss John Brogden has revealed he has had a long-term friendship with the chief executive of a developer from which his agency bought a large parcel of land for $258 million. But the former NSW Liberal Party leader told a budget estimates hearing on Tuesday that he believed the potential conflict of interest from his friendship with Bradcorp boss Peter Brennan was manageable because he was not the decision maker in the purchase.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/brogden-says-long-term-frien…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Why are developments still going up in western Sydney – and at what cost?
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)Driving over Granville’s railway bridge in peak hour traffic can take up to 20 mins for Tony Eltakchi. The stretch of road is less than 200 metres but the disproportionate scale of congestion, he says, comes from the nearby high-rise residential towers, all built in recent years.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/why-ugly-developments-are-still-b…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.Sidoti and Sydney developer referred to ICAC over land dealings
Adele Ferguson and Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Former NSW government minister John Sidoti and a large Sydney developer were referred to the anti-corruption watchdog amid allegations development plans for the city’s inner west were altered to benefit the builder of waterfront apartments.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sidoti-and-sydney-developer-…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.These types of Sydney properties are passing in at auction, even in a boom market
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)As Sydney continues its record run of sky-high clearance rates, there are not many homes being passed in at auction — but the leftovers are stock-standard units or homes with unrealistic seller expectations, agents report.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-properties-that-are-passing-i…
# NSW, Housing market.