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
Telling the Truth about Living on Country
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) (No paywall)PIAC’s Towards Truth project has released new research into laws and policies that have determined where and how Aboriginal people could hunt, fish and make a home, entitled ‘Living on Country’. The research reveals how governments since 1788 have forced assimilation through housing policies and restricted Aboriginal cultural fishing, with devastating consequences. The fight for traditional fishing rights: First Nations people have practiced sustainable fishing for tens of thousands of years, but research from Towards Truth demonstrates how these practices were almost immediately disrupted by colonial rules following invasion. In 1788, the first Governor of NSW, Arthur Phillip described how First Nations people found it ‘very difficult to support themselves,’ after colonisation began, and ordered naval officials to share a portion of any fishing catch with local Aboriginal people present.
https://piac.asn.au/2024/04/10/telling-the-truth-about-living-on…
# Must read NSW, Aboriginal renters.Lack of housing supply causes property prices to climb again as YIMBY movement gains pace
Nadia Daly ABC (No paywall)The disconnect between housing supply and demand has seen property prices climb for the 15th month in a row, with the worsening affordability crisis creating a development density divide between generations. The latest housing data from CoreLogic showed that house values increased by 0.6 per cent in April, with the national median property price rising to $779,817. "It kind of goes against a lot of what we're seeing in the Australian economy, which is low consumer sentiment, high interest rates, and depleted household savings," CoreLogic's Eliza Owen told the ABC. "But overall, it comes back to the fact that demand is still managing to outpace the supply of property in the market."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-01/rising-property-prices-ho…
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, .Bri's Story
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Brianna and her wife used to share a two-bedroom apartment with another pair of roommates in Dulwich Hill. When they first moved in, the place wasn’t perfectly maintained, to say the least. The real estate agent took 117 photos of various defects, maintenance issues and existing damage to the property when the condition report was compiled at the beginning of the lease. Nevertheless, Brianna and the others liked their rental. The apartment was in a small building of 8 flats, conveniently located near buses and local shops. Things started to turn for the worse three years into their tenure. First, a newly appointed real estate agent placed the household on a fixed-term lease and increased their rent by 19%. Then, in the spring of 2023, an eviction notice came. The note arrived via email, backdated three weeks, and with no explanation or reason for the eviction provided.
# Must read NSW, Eviction, Rent.How an alternative way of living known as co-operative living could ease Australia's rental crisis
Miriah Davis 9 News (No paywall)As property prices skyrocket across Australia, an alternative housing option is growing in popularity as a potential solution to tackling the national housing crisis. When Tara Morelos was a university student in 1996 she paid $50 per week in rent for a three-bedroom house in Sydney's inner west. Fast forward almost four decades later, and Morelos leases a four-bedder in Petersham for as little as $210 per week, well under the current market value.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/a-solution-to-australias-housi…
# Hot topic NSW, .Rental affordability hits all time low, NSW tenants worst hit
Rebecca Riddle Newcastle Weekly (No paywall)If you’re renting a home in NSW, you might want to consider an interstate move. And, if you’re happy to change sporting codes and call your takeaway snack a potato cake instead of a potato scallop, then your move could be to the cheapest place to rent in Australia – Melbourne. The “Premier State” is now officially out of reach for a majority of Australian tenants. That includes the Hunter region. On Saturday 9 March, REA Group’s data business PropTrack launched a new comprehensive measure of the share of rental properties that households can afford to lease. The PropTrack Rental Affordability Index analyses rental affordability across different household income distributions and locations. It shows rental affordability is now at its worst level in at least 17 years, when PropTrack records began, with median wage income earners able to afford just 28% of advertised rental properties.
https://newcastleweekly.com.au/rental-affordability-hits-all-tim…
# NSW, Rent.Eye-watering Sydney suburbs where housing price averages don't drop below $3.9 million
Adam Vidler 9 News (No paywall)Property prices continue their march upwards around Australia. New data from Domain shows housing values increased for a fifth consecutive quarter as of March, driven by low supply, high construction costs, and strong population growth. Sydney remains the epicentre of ballooning property prices. In fact, in the 10 most expensive suburbs of the city, median prices barely drop below $4 million. Here's where those suburbs are, in case you have a whole lot of cash burning a hole in your pocket.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/property-prices-10-sydney-subu…
# NSW, .'Shouses' are surging in popularity. But are they the answer to skyrocketing building costs?
Emily MacPherson 9 News (No paywall)When Jill Crocket's husband, Steve, asked her what kind of house they should build on their regional NSW property, she told him she wasn't too fussed about what form it would take. "I made the mistake of saying I didn't care if I even live in a shed - well, Steve ran with that," Jill said with a laugh. What Steve ended up building on their Nemingha farm, in the state's north-east, was a "shouse" - or a shed house. A shouse has the steel exterior of a shed, but with all the comforts of a home on the inside. Shouses have grown in popularity in recent years as a potentially cheaper way to build a unique and appealing home amid soaring construction costs. Social media is littered with groups where Australians show off their shouses, such as the popular Facebook page "Shed Life Australia", which now boasts around 150,000 followers.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/shouses-are-surging-in-popular…
# Hot topic NSW, .Greater housing density is coming to a Sydney suburb near you. Here’s what you need to know
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)The NSW government has formally commenced its Transport Oriented Development Program, a major prong in its plan to increase housing supply in NSW and help build 377,000 new homes by 2029. From May 13, development applications can be lodged under the new policy at the first 18 train or metro stations. The new planning controls allow apartment blocks of up to six storeys (technically 22 metres, or 24 metres if there are shops on the ground floor) within 400 metres of the station. It marks the start of a program that – at this stage – will expand to 37 train and metro stations by June 2025. There are also another eight “accelerated precincts”, mostly around current or future metro stations, that are being master-planned by the government for significantly more density.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/greater-housing-density-is-c…
# Hot topic NSW, .