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
HomeBuilder: Cost of materials spikes as property market runs hot
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)Rampant demand in the renovation and home building sector is hitting customers with significant delays and pushing up the price of materials. And disruptions to international supply chains are only making matters worse.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/03/31/home-buil…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.Indigenous communities should dictate how $1 billion infrastructure investment is spent
Kerry Black The Conversation (No paywall)We finally have a chance to get it right. For the first time in history, Canada has launched a $1 billion investment dedicated to First Nations, Métis and Inuit infrastructure. The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is establishing the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative (ICII), which will enable the building of new infrastructure projects in Indigenous communities and help generate investments in projects that are vital to economic growth and environmental protection.
https://theconversation.com/indigenous-communities-should-dictat…
# International, Planning and development, Race and ethnicity.Down and out in Johannesburg: Understanding homelessness
Harriet Perlman and Sarah Charlton (No paywall)Sunday 21 March is Human Rights Day in South Africa. One of the rights in our Constitution is the right of ‘everyone to have access to adequate housing’. And yet homelessness is growing. In a series of articles being published over the next three days, Maverick Citizen asked homeless people to write about their experiences. First, an overview of the homeless crisis in Johannesburg.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-03-17-down-and-out-…
# International, Homelessness, Housing market.House prices rising at fastest pace in 32 years as listings can't keep up with demand: CoreLogic
Stephanie Chalmers ABC (No paywall)Australian house prices are rising at the fastest pace in 32 years, as the Sydney and Melbourne property markets stage a full recovery from the short-lived COVID downturn. CoreLogic's monthly home value index rose 2.8 per cent in March — the biggest monthly growth since October 1988. ... Sydney prices had the most rapid rise, up 3.7 per cent in the month and 6.7 per cent over the first quarter of the year — the strongest quarterly growth since mid-2015.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-01/home-prices-rise-at-faste…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Why the RBA is reluctant to stop the housing boom
Ian Verrender ABC (No paywall)Each weekend, across the country, they line up for a quick COVID-restricted viewing. They are shuffled in from the driveway and from the street, subjected to a toned-down version of the usual spin from agents whose main task these days is to act as crowd control marshals and fend off requests for contracts. The competition is intense. Young couples nervously eye each other off, would-be rivals in a quest for their slice of the great Australian dream. ... The final prices routinely come in at well above the indicative range and well above buyer reserves. It's been a bonanza for the two-thirds of households that own a property; heartache for those desperately trying to get aboard the boom. ... So far, however, those at the controls have steadfastly refused to budge when it comes to bringing the madness under control.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-01/why-the-rba-is-reluctant-…
# Hot topic Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.House price party will end in tears unless someone turns off lights soon
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)If the Australian property market were a party, it’s at that point where the drinks should be put away, the guests kicked out and the bed turned down for a good night’s sleep. Unless the Reserve Bank, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and federal and state governments step in soon, the country is going to wake up with a hangover that will last for years.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/house-price-party-will-e…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government.Keeping an Eye on Landlord Tech
Erin McElroy, Wonyoung So and Nicole Weber (No paywall)From the United States ... Most renters know too well that COVID-19 has exacerbated racialized housing injustice, despite the powerful organizing efforts of an ever-growing housing justice movement. ... While numerous eviction moratoriums have passed in the U.S., these protections are weak and place the burden of proof on tenants. Most have only deferred rent debt, evictions, and houselessness. ... At the same time, an array of new real estate-oriented tech startups has emerged with tools to help landlords evict unruly or non-paying tenants. ... Manifestations of landlord tech can include tenant screening services, app-based short-term rental platforms, biometric facial recognition, and tools for real estate speculation. (Shelterforce)
https://shelterforce.org/2021/03/25/keeping-an-eye-on-landlord-t…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Landlords and agents.Fire and flood: 'Whole areas of Australia will be uninsurable'
Royce Kurmelovs The Guardian (No paywall)Extreme weather events caused by the climate emergency are an existential threat to homeowners and industry alike.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/02/fire-and-…
# Australia, Housing market.