Two in three Australians own their home, according to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week. The bureau’s latest Survey of Income and Housing (SIH), which measures housing occupancy and costs and how these change over…
Read moreAuthor: Adam Nobel
Home values lose steam
Australia’s housing market lost some steam in May, with national values falling for the first time since 2020, new data revealed this week. Values continued to rise across most capitals, but the growth was not enough to offset the depreciation…
Read moreHow to style a bookshelf
When is a bookcase not a bookcase? When it becomes an integral part of the interior design of your home. No longer are bookcases simply shelves for storing musty tomes that never get moved, let alone re-read. With a little…
Read moreBuilding down but not out
New home building was down in the first months of 2022, but industry bodies suggest it was due more to the season and Covid than lack of work. According to ABS data released this week, the value of new residential…
Read more3D-printed housing for rural town
In what might be a first for Australia, a regional town in NSW is reportedly considering investing in 3D-printed houses to allay the local housing crisis. Dubbo Regional councillor Matt Wright told the ABC this week that he has proposed…
Read moreBuilding approvals oscillate
Approvals to build new homes continue to oscillate, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The latest figures show that the total number of dwellings approved fell 18.5% in seasonally adjusted terms in March,…
Read moreStop the Topple: ACCC
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is seeking feedback about ways to reduce the dangers posed by toppling furniture, which has killed at least 28 people in Australia since 2000 and causes close to 20 injuries every week. ACCC…
Read moreSolar power, by night
Australia’s prolific rooftop solar panels could soon be gathering power overnight, following innovative research showing Earth’s radiant heat can be used to generate electricity, even after the sun has set. UNSW researchers have made a major breakthrough in renewable energy…
Read moreBring your buzz
This Friday (May 20) is World Bee Day, when we get to celebrate the hard-working little pollinators to whom we owe so much. Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.…
Read moreKath & Kim house is O-V-A-H
The iconic suburban house immortalised in the television series Kath & Kim has been demolished this month to make way, no doubt, for something that is more ‘the bee’s knees, puh-lease’. Set in the ‘effluent’ suburb of ‘Fountain Lakes’, the…
Read more