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
City of Sydney proposes fewer high-rise buildings for Waterloo revamp
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)No more than three high-rise apartment buildings will tower over Waterloo’s revamped public housing estate, under the City of Sydney’s plans to accommodate thousands of new homes demanded by the NSW government.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/city-of-sydney-proposes-fewe…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, Planning and development.Minister flags major extension to state’s $5.3b social housing blitz
Bianca Hall and Chloe Booker The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Thousands more social housing properties will be built over the next four years, on top of a $5.3 billion social housing construction blitz, under an ambitious 10-year strategy outlined by Housing Minister Richard Wynne.
The building initiative, which could lead to 14,500 homes being constructed in the first four years alone, is being billed as the biggest social and affordable housing program in the state’s history.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/minister-flags-major-ex…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing market, State Government.McGowan on the hunt for new homeless facility after hostel leasing bungle
Hamish hastie The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The McGowan government is on the hunt for a new 100-bed homeless facility in Perth’s CBD after it was revealed it didn’t actually have a lease for the Wellington Street hostel selected for the project. With the election campaign roaring back to life, WA Labor announced on Sunday it would spend $14.3 million on turning the YHA Perth hostel into a transitional and crisis accommodation facility for the homeless.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/mcgowan-on-the…
# Hot topic Australia, Homelessness.Australia's homelessness starts to rise again as economic support is wound back
SBS (No paywall)Less than a third of Australia's homeless people who were provided temporary hotel accommodation during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic have successfully transitioned into longer-term housing. Meanwhile, some 30 per cent of tenants who received rent variations from their landlords received deferrals rather than reductions - meaning their debts have ballooned as the economy remains in the doldrums.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-homelessness-starts-to-r…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Forced home sales unlikely as deferral schemes come to an end: CBA
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Commonwealth Bank says many borrowers who froze their mortgage repayments in response to COVID-19 are switching to lower fixed rates or interest-only loans to avoid the prospect of selling their homes. At the end of next month, emergency loan deferrals offered by banks in response to the pandemic will end, requiring customers to either resume their repayments or look at other options, including selling their property.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/forced-home-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership.Australian property prices could rise further when lending laws are relaxed, experts say
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)Australia’s rapidly rising property prices are tipped to get a further shot in the arm if responsible lending laws are relaxed next month and buyers can potentially borrow more money, according to housing experts.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-property-prices-set-to…
# Australia, Housing market.Regulators to keep a close eye on housing market, say economists
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)Regulators could slam the brakes on Australia’s housing upswing within the next one to two years, according to some prominent economists. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Tuesday announced it was introducing more stringent loan-to-value restrictions (“macroprudential policies“) to reduce risks to financial stability, after national property prices rose by a whopping 17.3 per cent over the 12 months to December. Although prices in New Zealand have risen at a much faster rate than in Australia, the announcement has led to speculation among local economists that Australia could implement a similar intervention within 24 months.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/02/11/macroprud…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing market.Public housing: where are the architects now?
Patricia Arcilla The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Opinion: This Saturday February 13, residents of the Explorer Street estate in Eveleigh, supported by Friends of Erskineville and Hands Off Glebe, will take to the streets in defence of their homes, which are slated for redevelopment. Architects who are serious about using their voice and skills for social good should consider making time to come along, first this Saturday and then every other time possible.
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/public-housin…
# NSW, Public and community housing, State Government.