Buyer loses bedroom when buying off-the-plan
In recent months we’ve had media reports about several developers who were enacting sunset clauses leaving buyers high and dry. Here, developers essentially terminate purchasing contracts and hand back the 10% deposit on a technicality which is at their discretion. They are doing this because the price has gone up and they can re-sell them at a much greater profit than what they originally sold them for a year or two ago. Now we’re hearing of a buyer who found that his bedroom was missing...
Property values have gained pace heading into spring, driven by record-low listings, new data shows.
The Cotality Home Value Index (HVI) recorded a 0.8 per cent increase in September, the strongest monthly gain for national dwelling values since October 2023. The lift was powered by robust growth conditions across the capital cities, where values rose 0.9 per cent over the month.
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‘Gentle density’ is on the rise in a number of states and that’s a good thing, according to new research released this week by the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
“Australia’s housing crisis won’t be solved without increasing medium density dwellings, particularly in our larger cities”, says Sam Heckel, HIA Executive Director Planning. “Gentle density projects such as townhouses, duplexes and terrace homes, can deliver more homes faster and at prices people can afford.”
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Could Australian inner-city neighbourhoods consider banning cars in the interests of breathing clean air? It has taken 20 years, but Paris has managed to swap out several major motor vehicle arteries for bike lanes and green spaces, while eliminating 50,000 parking spaces – and it is having a measurable impact.
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October 31 is the deadline for submitting tax returns, so the ATO is offering a guide to entitlements and tax obligations on your property investment.
What you do during each stage of the life of your property can affect your tax for years to come. Whether buying, owning or selling, if you use the property to earn income at any time you will have entitlements and tax obligations, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Here are a few ways to make an impact.
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Two Australian suburbs have been named in Timeout’s list of the world’s coolest neighbourhoods for 2025, but this year the Sydney-Melbourne dynamic has shifted.
Coming in at #16 is Sydney’s Burwood, lauded as the fifth-most diverse community in Australia. Along with a great variety of cuisine, it ranked high for ‘pumping at night – all neon lit and filled with people’ as well as being ‘a beautiful place during the day, with kids playing cricket, the elderly doing tai chi and groups practicing cultural dances’. North Melbourne was further down in the list this year, ranked 24th for its ‘charming, village-style vibe’, a strong sense of community and ‘diverse spread of cuisines on offer’. Image: Jem Cresswell
By-laws are a set of rules that owners and tenants of a strata scheme must follow. These rules are determined and can be changed by majority vote at a general meeting of the Owners Corporation.
By-laws might set out whether pets are allowed, the hours restricting the use of the complex’s swimming pool, or state that no clothes, washing or bedding be hung on balcony hand rails. They’re not necessarily the same from one complex to another, so if you're buying into or living in a strata building, make sure you ask for a copy of its by-laws.