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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Anna was ready to buy her first home - but then her details were leaked in the Optus data breach and everything changed
ABC (No paywall)For New South Wales resident Anna, having her personal details compromised in the Optus data breach has had serious implications as a prospective first-home buyer. And, she says, failing to get clear advice from Optus in the immediate aftermath may have made things worse. Both Anna and her partner have spent the past year actively trying to purchase a home in their regional town, Nambucca Heads.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-05/optus-data-breach-affecte…
# NSW, Privacy and access, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.Rental shortage leaves Bega Valley family homeless, advocates call for more temporary housing
Elise Searson Prakaash ABC (No paywall)When Carine Sheridan moved to the Bega Valley from Sydney to escape domestic violence, she had dreams of a fresh start for herself and her three children in south-eastern New South Wales. But after settling in a rental home that she felt unsafe in, she faced a difficult choice; to stay, against her better judgement, or leave and risk homelessness. Ms Sheridan was living in Towamba, west of Eden, which had the most affordable rent. When she moved four years ago Ms Sheridan secured a property for $220 a week. But she alleged her landlord continued to come into the home unannounced — an issue she took to the rental tribunal.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-05/rental-housing-crisis-nsw…
# NSW, Domestic violence, Privacy and access, Rent, Homelessness, Landlords and agents, Personal stories, Regional NSW.Vulnerable women and children waiting longer than ever for housing
Sumeyya Ilanbey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Vulnerable women and children fleeing family violence are finding it harder than ever to find long-term housing, while survivors in acute danger are waiting almost 18 months to get priority access to public housing. Premier Daniel Andrews defended his government’s record on supporting victims of family violence after new figures showed the average wait time for Victorians who are facing violence, already homeless or need to move for health reasons has blown out to 17.1 months – up from 9.9 months just three years ago.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/vulnerable-women-and-ch…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Homelessness.House values tumble as RBA considers more rates pain
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Reserve Bank has fresh evidence the property market is rapidly slowing due to higher interest rates as new data shows the biggest fall in Sydney and Melbourne house prices since the depths of the global financial crisis. But before the RBA board’s Tuesday meeting, at which markets expect the bank to lift official interest rates by another half percentage point, separate figures show the resources sector is expected to pump a record $450 billion back into the economy as demand and prices remain high for key mineral exports. CoreLogic’s measure of dwelling values for September, released on Monday, showed a further 1.4 per cent drop across capital city markets. At an annual rate, dwelling values across all capital cities turned negative, slipping 0.7 per cent. Sydney is the epicentre of the price correction. The median house value fell another 2.1 per cent to be down 7 per cent over the past three months. Through the year to date, the median house value in Sydney is down 9.2 per cent or by more than $100,000. Also, read Emilia Terzon's article entitled: 'Property prices drop nationally again, with Sydney diving 6pc annually and regional Australia following suit' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-03/property-prices-corelogic-rents-september-2022/101495078] Read Poppy Johnston's article entitled: 'Reserve Bank poised to prescribe more pain with another rate hike' in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2022/10/02/rba-rate-hike-predicted/] Read Sam McKeith's article entitled: 'Sydney leads another drop in house values across Australian capital cities' in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2022/10/03/house-prices-fall-capital-cities/] Read Sam McKeith's article entitled: 'Sydney leads another drop in house values across Australian capital cities' in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2022/10/03/house-prices-fall-capital-cities/]. Read Matthew Elmas's article entitled: '"In their stride": Why property prices might not fall as far as feared' in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2022/10/03/property-prices-fall/]. Read Caitlin Cassidy's article entitled: 'House prices fall as Sydney owners make loss on resales to escape high interest rates' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/04/house-prices-fall-as-sydney-owners-make-loss-on-resales-to-escape-high-interest-rates]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/house-values-tumble-as-r…
# Australia, Housing market, Sydney.Neighbourhoods where property owners are most likely to sell at a loss
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Close to one in five properties in apartment-heavy neighbourhoods such as Ryde and Strathfield in Sydney and the Melbourne CBD and Stonnington are selling at a loss, new figures show. Nervous investors and first home buyers have been turning away from cookie-cutter high-rise towers and choosing boutique unit blocks where possible, mindful of the high-profile cracking Opal Tower and the desire for open space through the pandemic.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/neighbourhoods-where-proper…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market.Council rates hikes to impact millions in NSW as inflation rises
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Most NSW councils will have their rate rises pegged at 3.7 per cent next financial year after a decision by the regulator made councils in fast-growing areas able to increase levies up to 6.8 per cent. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) sets the so-called “rate peg”, the maximum annual increase councils can charge ratepayers. The tribunal does, however, allow councils to request the ability to levy businesses or households with higher rates than the overall peg.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/council-rates-hike-for-milli…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Tax.Where to find Sydney’s best and worst property prices
Kate Burke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Rapidly rising interest rates have taken a toll on Sydney’s housing market, and while some suburbs have been harder hit than others, new data shows none have been spared. Sydney’s median house value dropped 9.7 per cent from the end of April to the end of September, CoreLogic figures show, and even more affordable suburbs - where prices have held up better - recorded falls.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/where-to-find-sydney-s-best…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.Why I'd be happy to see more ghost homes
Dileepa Fonseka (No paywall)Ghost homes satisfy all the right criteria when it comes to scapegoats for the housing crisis.
The first criterion is that the target of blame must be someone who is not you, this generally rules out most of the main causes of the crisis. The people to blame for the crisis are those who oppose more housing in their backyards and buyers who cash-in on low interest rates by piling into the housing market all at once – in other words, most of us. The second criteria for a scapegoat must be that they are doing something that really, really annoys you. This is why “ghost homes” – the colloquial name for unoccupied homes – are a popular target of blame for the housing crisis, just like Asian migrants and foreign investors once were before them.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/130067012/dile…
# International, Housing affordability, Housing market.