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
China is in the midst of a power crunch and the Evergrande crisis. But not everyone is panicking — yet
Bill Birtles and Paddy Fok ABC (No paywall)Ninety million empty flats and a generation squeezed out of the housing market in big cities. An economy heading for a slowdown that's currently growing too fast for power plants to keep up. It might look like China is headed towards disaster, but crystal ball gazing in the world's most populous country has never been easy.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-03/china-evergrande-property…
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents.‘Priced out’: how Covid’s work-from-home boom is squeezing small towns
Jock Serong The Guardian (No paywall)Two winters ago, my evening dip at Port Fairy’s East Beach was framed by a backdrop of darkened, empty holiday houses. I could swing into a parking spot outside the front door of the supermarket. And to some extent these things still applied in the winter of 2021, but there were noticeable differences. The town’s two primary schools are at capacity. Long-term rentals and homes for sale are scarce. The lights are very much on. In some ways Port Fairy, three-and-a-half hours west of Melbourne, offers a useful study of what’s happening to coastal towns all along the eastern seaboard.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/03/priced-ou…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Regional NSW.Newcastle illustrator drawing every house on her Mayfield street during lockdown
Christine Sheridan and Jenny Marchant ABC (No paywall)When the Hunter region in New South Wales was forced into lockdown last month, local illustrator Jess Garnham set herself the challenge of drawing one house on her street each day.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-02/newcastle-illustrator-dra…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home.‘Unmitigated disaster’: Residents, council slam plans for new suburb
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Scaled-back plans for a new suburb on the northern beaches have been labelled an “unmitigated disaster waiting to happen” by a local councillor, as residents raise concerns about the risk of bushfires in the area.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/unmitigated-disaster-residen…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.Lending restrictions could hit property investors
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Property investors are likely to find it harder to obtain the big mortgages often required to buy free-standing homes after regulators signalled they would likely act to tighten lending rules. ... “There has been a shift by investors from units to free-standing houses,” says Doron Peleg, founder of RiskWise Property Research. They are attracted to houses because of the potential for capital gains, he says. However, houses usually require larger mortgages than units and, if APRA does impose lending limits, investor buying activity would likely drop, Peleg says.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/lending-restrictions-coul…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Perth home values surge by more than 18 per cent in past year
Nicolas Perpitch and Michael Janda ABC (No paywall)Perth house prices have surged more than 18 per cent in the past year, and even more in regional WA, according to revised property data by CoreLogic.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/perth-home-values-surge-1…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.Perth homes up 18.1 per cent in value, but growth is slowing
Peter de Kruijff The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)House prices in Perth have gone up by 18.1 per cent in the past year, but the growth has slowed down with only a minor increase in the past quarter.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-homes-up…
# Australia, Housing market.Rent and crisis: Old housing problems require a new state of exception in Australia
Sophia Maalsen, Dallas Rogers and Leo Patterson Ross (No paywall)Here's an article from last year that is well worth a read ... The coronavirus pandemic is opening up a space for housing advocates and scholars to push for reforms to the private rental sector. Yet, we argue the Australian government has shown little commitment to addressing long-term, structural housing issues. Temporary reform will not lead to a new or more socially just housing system in the long-term—a new housing normal—without a significant and nation-wide tenant campaign. Like others, we are working together on campaigns such as this, but we are conscious that the government is likely to revert back to their old housing habits. (Dialogues in Human Geography)
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Health, Housing market, State Government.