News

When applying for a loan to buy your home, it is important to know just what you can and can’t do and what the costs are, before you sign up. Take this checklist with you and make sure you are…

Leaving a huge boulder in place to divide the living room and main bedroom of his house was all part of the brief for mid-20th century Californian architect Albert Frey. Frey designed his home to sit in harmony with the…

If you are considering building or renovating your home to be more sustainable, the Australian Government’s free ‘Design for Place’ house plans have just been updated and expanded to capture new requirements for energy efficiency, accessibility and liveability. Created by…

Three out of five Australian renters do not expect to ever own their home, with new research showing that many would be happy to spend more money to ensure a long-term lease. Three in four, however, would certainly prefer to…

Innovative use of materials and the preservation and adaptive re-use of existing heritage were common themes among the winning entries in this year’s National Architecture Awards. Jury chair and immediate past national president of the Australian Institute of Architects Stuart…

Renovating can be stressful, with timelines, budgets, noise, dust, or even living out of half the house at a time. If it’s tough on us, imagine the effect it has on our pets, who just don’t understand that knocking down…

The super-cute native blue-banded bee has this week been named 2024 ABC Australian Insect of the Year. A total of 13,593 people voted in the inaugural ABC poll, with just over 50.1% (6,815 votes) choosing the blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata)…

Stick vacuums have proved a boon for instant clean-ups, but some are invariably better than others, as shown this week with Choice’s latest Shonky Awards. Choice named the Acerpure Clean Lite stick vacuum the ‘worst stick vacuum we’ve ever tested’.…

Values improved in patches around the country in October, new data shows. CoreLogic’s national Home Value Index (HVI) recorded a 0.3% rise in October, the 21st month of growth since the cycle commenced in February last year. The subtle positive…

Lower inflation data was not enough to move the Reserve Bank of Australia this week, with the Board once again opting to leave the official cash rate at on hold at 4.35% for its eighth meeting in a row. Despite…