Daily Buzz: Saturday, 25 May

PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.

Why Victorian investors are getting cold feet, new insight into the housing crisis, and auction figures record a slight rise.

Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Juliet Helmke

Today is Saturday, 25 May.

– Extra pressures in Victoria appear to be taking a toll on tenants, with MCG Quantity surveyors uncovering how the pool of rentals is shrinking, likely due to investors leaving the market as a result of increased property taxes.
– Over the last three months, the firm reported that investor loans in Victoria totalled 10,220, resulting in an annualised figure of 40,880 properties. During the same period, annualised ex-rentals were calculated at 45,924, meaning the state is facing a net loss of 5,044 rental properties, a 1 per cent decrease in its private rental stock.
– The firm believes the issue extends beyond existing landlords exiting the market; potential new landlords are also hesitant to invest in Victoria due to new taxes and unfavourable market conditions.

– Looking at housing issues more broadly now, and the People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis has begun holding hearings to draw out the full scope of the issue. The Commission is a research initiative undertaken by Everybody’s Home, and it has recently published a survey that reveals 80 per cent of renters are experiencing housing stress, with many skipping meals to afford housing.
– Over half of the respondents of its recent survey, which included homeowners and renters, reported that they were reduced energy use and even essential medical attention to manage housing costs.
– Doug Cameron, former Parliamentary Secretary for Housing and co-commissioner of the project, called attention to decades of failed policy for creating a housing system that is unaffordable and inaccessible for low-income Australians.
– Cameron called for more government investment in social housing, changes to negative gearing settings, and the acceleration of affordable, sustainable low-cost housing.

– And ending the week with a look at the auction market, the number of homes set to hit the block has increased slightly over last week with 2,246 capital city homes scheduled to go under the hammer for the week ending 26 May, a 4.7 per cent increase from the previous week.
– Melbourne is leading with over 1,000 auctions for the fourth consecutive week, and 4.1 per cent above last week’s volume
– Sydney is next with 806 homes set for auction, its busiest week since mid-April, while Brisbane and Adelaide will see a decrease in auction volumes.
– Auction activity is expected to continue rising, with approximately 2,350 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capital markets next week.

That’s Property Buzz for today, hope you have a great weekend ahead of you. We’ll See you again on Monday, 27 May, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.

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