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
Australian housing market entering ‘tricky territory’ as affordability starts to bite
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Australia’s housing market is heading into “tricky territory” as coronavirus-related lockdowns intersect with the issue of soaring house prices and affordability, a new report reveals. ... Westpac’s Quarterly Housing Pulse showed the “time to buy a dwelling index” was at its second-lowest point since 2010. ... Affordability has become a major concern in Melbourne and Sydney. Both cities are in lockdown but have also had house prices soar to record levels over the past 12 months.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australian-housing-market-enterin…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing market.Stressed parents fear kids will never afford a home of their own
Nina Hendy The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Parents are losing hope that their children will ever be able to afford the great Australian dream of home ownership. The property market is moving further out of reach with every passing month, rising by about $1200 a day in the second quarter and $445 a day in Melbourne in the three months ended in June.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/stressed-parents-fear-kids-w…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Home ownership, Housing market.Australia’s preliminary clearance rates drops to lowest level since July 2020: CoreLogic
Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Australia’s preliminary auction clearance rate has dropped to its lowest level since late July 2020, with Melbourne’s ban on inspections weighing down auction results, CoreLogic figures reveal. ... The investor market was likely to have been harder hit in Sydney, Mr McGlynn said, as investment properties were more likely to be tenanted, making it difficult to access even for one-on-one inspections.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australias-preliminary-clearance-…
# Australia, Privacy and access, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Lockdowns push house prices even higher as new listings fall
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)Prolonged lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria are pushing up house prices by discouraging vendors from listing their homes at a time of sky-high demand. Data from property analytics firm CoreLogic shows the number of new listings in Melbourne last week was down 35 per cent on the week ending July 18, while new listings in Sydney were down 29 per cent on the week ending June 27. Overall sales activity, however, has remained relatively stable as record-low interest rates and higher household savings lure more people into buying property.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/08/25/lockdowns…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.COVID-19: Lockdown support for Australian Capital Territory renters
(No paywall)COVID-19 restrictions are in force for the Australian Capital Territory and in place until Thursday, 2 September. If you rent in the ACT, here’s where to get tenancy support. (rent.com.au)
https://www.rent.com.au/blog/australian-capital-territory-lockdo…
# Australia, Privacy and access, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Forum: Scooter boost, plant ban and free reno
Jimmy Thomson (No paywall)There are two major movements in strata, regarding electric vehicles. One is related to the population getting older, the other is our belated rush to embrace electric vehicles. Both of these require strata schemes to address the needs of residents to be able to charge their mobility scooters or electric cars, either where they park them, or nearby. (Flat Chat)
# NSW, Strata, Utilities water energy internet, Older people.COVID-19: Tenancy support for South Australian tenants
(No paywall)COVID-19 restrictions were recently in force for South Australia. If you rent in SA, here’s where to get tenancy support. (rent.com.au)
# Australia, Eviction, Privacy and access, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Senior housing crisis on the horizon
Daniel Smith (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Peter Dalton was 90 years old when he discovered he needed to find a new place to live. The former school teacher had spent the past 20 years renting a house in Torbay, Auckland. But when the owner returned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it meant his accommodation was no longer an option. So Dalton was forced to compete with others for somewhere to live. He wanted to find a self-contained unit in his community on Auckland’s North Shore, but that was impossible. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125689179/senior-housing-crisis…
# International, Rent, Affordable housing, Older people.