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
What can you buy for Australia’s median house price?
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)The median house price across Australia’s capital cities is now $1,065,447, and a budget that size will stretch further in some parts of the country than others. Depending on the location, and the amount of renovation required, buyers might be looking at a home just a few kilometres from a CBD, or much further afield.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-can-you-buy-for-austra…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Regional WA tourist hotspots Broome and Busselton feeling the house price boom
Ellie Honeybone, Sam Bold, and Dinushi Dias ABC (No paywall)Western Australia's coastal holiday hotspots Broome and Busselton are experiencing surging house prices, with real estate agents reporting increased interest in regional living from city dwellers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-11/regional-housing-price-in…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘Losing its green heart’: Why a Sydney council plans to sell off green space to developers
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Federal and state Liberal politicians have lined up to condemn a north shore council that is attempting to sell off open space for housing. Ku-ring-gai Council on Tuesday will vote on a planning proposal to rezone the site of the Gordon Bowling Club to permit detached houses and seniors’ living up to 9.5 metres high.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/losing-its-green-heart-why-a…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.‘The house was freezing’: life during blackouts of 1970s Britain
Tobi Thomas The Guardian (No paywall)When Judy Young first saw the government’s response to concerns over power supplies could be potential blackouts this winter, her first thought was: “Thank God I haven’t got young children any more.” On Tuesday, it was reported that under the government’s latest “reasonable worst case scenario” plan, Britain could experience several days of blackouts in January if the country is short of power. Young, a retired headteacher and now portrait painter who lives in Herefordshire, said the blackouts of the 1970s were particularly challenging with her two very young children. “It was difficult being in a blackout with young children who you can never take your eyes off even for a second, especially not if you’ve got candles all over the place,” she says. “The house was freezing and it was dangerous with such small children to have any kind of oil heater which they could burn their fingers on.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/14/house-freezing-…
# International, Utilities water energy internet, Families, History.Why becoming a grey nomad could affect your pension
Noel Whittaker The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)As the number of retirees grows and international travel becomes more problematical and expensive because of the pandemic, there is a surge in the number of grey nomads travelling Australia. After all, what could be simpler than taking your caravan to drive around our country? No lost luggage, no fluctuating fares, and the freedom to do what you want. However, there is a potential problem: the effect on your age pension. ... If you are away from your home for a long period, such as a year, it makes sense to rent it. However, you need to remember that your super is subject to deeming, which provides a notional income that must be added to the rent you receive on your house.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/why-becoming-a…
# Australia, Landlords and agents, Older people, Welfare.Structural supports put in Sydney apartment tower to ensure safety
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A Sydney apartment tower has had temporary support columns installed to ensure the safety of hundreds of residents, 10 months after an engineer raised serious concerns about its structural integrity. Unit owners in the 10-storey building in Canterbury have taken out a loan to pay for the back-propping work after developer Toplace and its experts disagreed that it was needed. ... The tower is in a complex known as Vicinity that has about 276 apartments over three buildings, and was completed about seven years ago by Toplace. A structural engineer hired by owners warned last October that the tower – known as Building C – was at serious risk of collapse which, if it occurred, would lead to “catastrophic damage” to the two other apartment buildings in the complex.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/structural-supports-put-in-s…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Australia has been crying out for a national housing plan, and new council is a big step towards having one
Emma Baker and Andrew Beer The Conversation (No paywall)The federal government’s confirmation on Monday that it will set up a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council has not received much media or public attention. But, dollar for dollar, it might be the year’s most important and impactful housing announcement. The announcement by the minister for housing and homelessness, Julie Collins, at this week’s National Homeless Conference is a major step towards a considered and long-overdue national plan for housing. Australia’s approach to the challenges of housing supply and affordability over the past decade could easily be described as “ramshackle”. This has meant policies, interests and outcomes have clashed.
https://theconversation.com/australia-has-been-crying-out-for-a-…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.Why the cost of negative gearing tax breaks is likely to rise
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)The cost of negative gearing tax concessions is set to soar as interest rates rise, meaning Australian taxpayers could spend billions of dollars to offset private landlords’ lost income in coming years, experts say. Abolishing the contentious tax policy is one of the fairest and least economically damaging ways to help repair the public budget, top economists say. Read also Greg Jericho's article entitled: 'Australian tax data is absolute proof of the gender pay gap across the entire economy' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2022/aug/10/australian-tax-data-is-absolute-proof-of-the-gender-pay-gap-across-the-entire-economy] Here, he states: 'Record low interest rates meant only 10.7% of the 14.9 million individuals who submitted a tax return negative geared, [but] as ever the more you earn the more likely you are to negative gear'. You can view Australian Taxation Office's 'Taxation statistics 2019-20'and previous years at: [https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/research-and-statistics/tax-and-superannuation-statistics/]
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/why-the-cost-of-negative-ge…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Tax.