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
4 reasons affordable housing is slow to recover after disasters like hurricanes, and what communities can do about it
Shannon Van Zandt The Conversation (No paywall)From the United States ... How a community recovers after a disaster like Hurricane Ian is often a “chicken and egg” question: Which returns first – businesses or households? Businesses need employees and customers to be able to function. Households need jobs and the services businesses provide. As an urban planning researcher who focuses on housing recovery after disasters, I have found in my research that they’re mutually dependent. However, in coastal communities, the recovery of tourism-based businesses like restaurants and hotels depends in large part on the return of affordable housing for employees.
https://theconversation.com/4-reasons-affordable-housing-is-slow…
# International, Affordable housing.Builders warn of long wait as labour shortages and supply chain disruptions plague industry
Pat Heagney ABC (No paywall)[Master Builders regional manager Dean Phillips] says a shortage of labour and supply chain issues are contributing to building delays across the industry. "The material and supply chain shortages that we've seen as a result of COVID haven't gone away," he says. "And there just hasn't been trade availability to get on top of jobs as quickly as we'd like. "There's a skill shortage in general and a major labour shortage."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-24/builder-backlog-labour-sh…
# Australia, Housing market.The telling truth about the ‘bank of mum and dad’
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Economic researchers have long taken an interest in the subject of “intergenerational earnings mobility”. That is, to what degree does a parent’s income determine their child’s future income? ... Using data from the longest running longitudinal survey of Australian households, the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, researches [Rachel Ong ViforJ and Christopher Phelps] were able to isolate just over 8000 instances of survey respondents moving from non-home ownership to home ownership in any year. They then looked at the parental assistance received by these home buyers and the role it played in increasing their chances of making the transition, compared to someone else with the same characteristics (such as income and gender) who did not make the same leap on to the property ladder. Interestingly, they found only a small proportion, 4.5 per cent, of successful first home buyers received an outright cash transfer of more than $5000 from their parent around the time of their home purchase. A further 2.6 per cent did, however, benefit from an inheritance around that time.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-telling-truth-ab…
# Australia, Families, Home ownership.Sydney’s property prices dropped 10% this year, with $450 a day lost from average home
Peter Hannam The Guardian (No paywall)Sydney’s property prices have fallen by more than 10% since their mid-February peak, shedding almost $450 a day in value on an average home, and leading other major markets lower, CoreLogic said. The 10.1% decline for home values in the harbour city so far comes as documents from the Reserve Bank of Australia indicate average property values may sink as much as 20% nationally from their recent highs by the end of 2024. That decline would be the steepest since the 1980s if realised. Other cities reporting falling home values include Melbourne, where prices are down about 6.4% after beginning their retreat in mid-January. Brisbane’s falls are 6.1% from their mid-June zenith, while Adelaide and Perth have begun edging lower, easing about 1% from their August highs, CoreLogic said. Also, read Kate Burke's article entitled: '"Sinking all the boats": house price downturn hits double digits' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/sinking-all-the-boats-house-price-downturn-hits-double-digits-20221024-p5bse9.html]. Read Catherine Hanrahan's article entitled: 'Sydney house prices have dropped by 10 per cent this year, according to latest data' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-25/sydney-house-prices-drop-by-10-per-cent-this-year/101573718]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/24/sydneys-p…
# Australia, Housing market, Sydney.We face peril because the UK economy relies on house prices. Here are three ways to fix that
Fran Boait The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... House prices are predicted to drop next year due to a mixture of financial instability caused by the misjudged mini-budget and the Bank of England accelerating interest rate hikes. This will be disastrous for many households struggling to afford increased mortgage repayments. At the same time there are many struggling to buy their first home. In 2021, UK house prices grew at their fastest pace in over a decade, despite the economy still recovering from one of the worst contractions in 300 years. This disconnect between the housing market and the rest of the economy only benefits those who use housing as an asset for accumulating wealth.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/24/uk-economy…
# International, Housing market.Australian Institute of Architects lashes NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet for 'unwarranted attack' over Barangaroo
Paige Cockburn ABC (No paywall)... the peak body for architects, with over 12,000 members, has written to the premier to take issue with his comments and for "twisting tales". In the letter, the Institute said Mr Perrottet's remarks were "distasteful, derogatory and false" and demanded he apologise. ... "The institute does not negatively pass judgement on the work of members of our profession. It is our role, however, to point out government process discrepancies and failures which impact our profession and the general public, and this has been the case historically with the Barangaroo site."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-26/nsw-architects-demand-apo…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government, Sydney.Building insurers back in the apartment game
Jimmy Thomson (No paywall)When Building Commissioner David Chandler told us that his shake-up of new building standards in NSW would lead to a return of insurers providing cover for new apartment builds, there were a few in the industry who quietly said, ‘tell him he’s dreamin’.” This week that dream became a reality when a major insurer offered cover for selected new apartment blocks’ construction – the first time that has been available to blocks over three storeys high in 20 years, following the collapse of HIH Insurance and the GFC. (Flat Chat) Also, read Rose Mary Petrass' article entitled: '“Bad news for bad developers” – NSW first with 10 year apartment defect insurance' in 'The Fifth Estate' at: [https://thefifthestate.com.au/business/bad-news-for-bad-developers-nsw-first-with-10-year-apartment-defect-insurance/]
# NSW, Strata.Housing association’s women-only affordable housing scheme in west London rejected by councillors
Ella Jessel Inside Housing (Paywall)Hammersmith and Fulham’s planning committee turned down a proposal by the suffragette-founded Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH) to replace 36 flats and its run-down offices in White City with 60 new homes. The scheme, a joint venture with developer HUB and designed by architects AHMM, would also have seen an 18-storey co-living tower with 209 studios built on the 227 Wood Lane site. However despite planning officers recommending approval, WPH’s scheme was rejected after a debate at Hammersmith and Fulham’s planning committee earlier this month.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-associations-w…
# International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Planning and development, Women.