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Housing affordability

This Month

Buyers of apartments on sites such as this 22-storey, 111 Castlereagh by Cbus project in Sydney have an easier path to make claims in case of defects.

How it just became even better to buy an apartment in NSW

A High Court ruling has made it easier for off-the-plan buyers to sue developers and builders for defects – but only if they live in the largest state.

  • Michael Bleby
Plans to turn Rosehill Racecourse into a mini-city may never go ahead following a scathing report by a parliamentary committee.

Inquiry refers Rosehill housing plan to ICAC, seeks racing probe

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has slammed a committee in charge of the report, claiming it had become ‘personal’.

  • Zoe Samios

November

Victoria now has the highest rate of home-loan arrears across all Australian states, taking over from Western Australia.

Victorian mortgage arrears top other states

Fresh data from ratings agency S&P shows Victoria has the highest rate of home-loan arrears of any Australian states, overtaking Western Australia.

  • Gus McCubbing and Patrick Durkin
The three-bedroom semidetached home at 130 Ramsay Street, in inner-western Sydney’s Haberfield sold by private treaty for $2.25 million.

The $2.25m sale of an Airbnb that dragged out over four weeks

This was a difficult house to sell because of restricted opening times but its price point below the suburb median ensured the buyer was patient.

  • Michael Bleby
Can’t buy me love (or a house).

‘Let’s get together, double our income’: Money is the new dating trend

Love can conquer most things, but can it overcome financial differences? Australia’s singles aren’t so sure.

  • Lucy Dean
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Jim Chalmers.

Chalmers directs Future Fund to invest in housing and renewables

The treasurer has directed the country’s sovereign wealth fund to prioritise investments in housing, renewable energy and infrastructure.

  • Tom McIlroy and Michael Read
Greenfield developer Khurram Saeed says the Victorian government must keep releasing land to meet its housing targets.

How the Aussie dream is making the housing crisis worse

Pakistani migrant turned property developer Khurram Saeed says the Victorian government cannot rely on apartment construction to meet its ambitious housing targets.

  • Gus McCubbing
First out of the blocks: Villawood is marketing 12 boutique standalone homes at its Morphettville Racecourse development in Adelaide but says costs need to stabilise before it can sell more moderately priced apartments. 

Rising costs, longer lead times stymie unit sales

Higher construction costs – and longer build times – are holding back the development of cheaper flats, in another blow to housing affordability.

  • Michael Bleby

October

A new record: Sydney’s median house price rose to a new high of $1.65 million in the September quarter.

Housing market on the cusp of another boom

Better sentiment and tax cuts have pushed Sydney’s median house price to a record $1.65 million. Falling rates will boost the market even more, Domain says.

  • Michael Bleby
After increasing steadily for decades thanks to the Baby Boomers, participation in property investment has started to wane as regulators tighten the screws on lending.

Australia has passed peak property investor

For many around the country, especially Baby Boomers, property investing is a national pastime. But if you look closely, landlord numbers are declining.

  • Michael Read
Jacinta Allan is staking her premiership on getting more frustrated millennials into the cramped housing market, pitching an ambitious vision to make Victoria the ‘townhouse capital’ of Australia.

Allan makes townhouse pitch to woo millennial voters

Pollsters say Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has staked her leadership on her housing credentials after a week-long blitz of announcements.

  • Gus McCubbing
jacinta allan

Victoria must cut red tape and boost confidence, says top home builder

Metricon chief executive Brad Duggan says while Victoria’s unlocking of greenfield areas for development would immediately boost supply, delays in approvals could still add years to construction.

  • Gus McCubbing
Tim Gurner says Labor’s stamp duty relief will give people a reason to invest in Melbourne again.

Broke, cold, no capital growth: Tim Gurner’s verdict on Melbourne

The property developer says Victoria’s cuts to stamp duty are the best government decision in years, but the state has a lot of catching up to do.

  • Gus McCubbing
While economists have mixed views on negative gearing, almost all agree there is a strong case to review and scale back the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount.

Curtailing capital gains tax discount could raise $5b

While economists are mixed on negative gearing, almost all agree there is a strong case to review and scale back the 50 per cent CGT markdown.

  • Michael Read
Anthony Albanese and the house he has bought at Copacabana on the Central Coast.

Colleagues warned Albanese against home purchase

Publicly, MPs are defending Anthony Albanese for spending $4.3 million on a home in the middle of a housing crisis. Privately, many are seething.

  • Phillip Coorey
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Anthony Albanese and the house he has bought at Copacabana on the Central Coast.

Albanese’s $4.3m home controversy is pure tall poppy syndrome

Financial success of public leaders is celebrated in the United States. But in Australia, it is political poison.

  • John Kehoe
House price valuations relative to incomes are at record highs. 

Tweaking the 3pc buffer rule misses the real problem with housing

Reducing the mortgage serviceability test would allow more borrowers into the market. But the test is only one part of a much gnarlier problem.

  • Lucy Dean
Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Chalmers digs in on negative gearing advice

Treasurer Jim Chalmers again hedged when questioned if he had asked officials to model changes to tax concessions for property investors.

  • Updated
  • Tom McIlroy

September

Anthony Albanese on the hustings in Tasmania on Wednesday

PM yet to be convinced housing tax changes won’t hurt supply

The prime minister says Treasury is looking at ways to curb the use of negative gearing and capital gains tax, but it wasn’t his idea.

  • Phillip Coorey
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is questioned over negative gearing in Launceston.

Albanese confirms negative gearing and CGT options under review

The prime minister says Treasury is looking at ways to curb their use, but refused to say whether it is at the federal government’s request.

  • Phillip Coorey

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/housing-affordability-6ft3