In this week’s news, what's needed to make it viable; new house starts lift; and showing your home's best (out)side
Apartment building continues to fluctuate, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest figures show that work started on new multi-unit homes drove the fall, dropping 7.4 per cent to 13,756, following a rise of 1.4 per cent in the March quarter. House starts, on the other hand, rose 1.7 per cent to 25,732 following a rise of 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter.
With housing availability at an all-time low, a QUT economist is proposing older homeowners be given incentives to rent out their spare bedrooms.
Dr Lyndall Bryant, from the QUT Centre for Justice and School of Economics and Finance, suggests that with appropriate tenant matching and management, along with assurances that pensions will not be impacted or onerous tax generated, it could be a win-win for both parties.
Confidence in new home building is returning, new data has revealed this week.
While the latest HIA New Home Sales report shows that the number of sales in September remained unchanged from the previous month, sales over the past twelve months are higher by 8.6 per cent than last year.
Spring is here and quite a few homeowners are thinking about putting their home on the market. The question is, what will attract the most buyers in the shortest amount of time?
With the advent of warmer weather, now is a good time to switch the direction on ceiling fans, if you had them on ‘winter mode’ during the colder months.
The blades should turn anticlockwise during summer and clockwise through winter, to distribute heat and cooling as appropriate. Most fans will have a switch on the side of the motor, or perhaps on the remote control (if applicable).
Selling the family home often brings angst and perhaps some guilt, but it must be so much harder when the house is a 300-year-old cottage decorated by your grandfather using tens of thousands of seashells.
Kevin L. Ffrench was a sailor who spent countless hours of his life using shells to express his love of the sea through images of birds, a lighthouse, and even a pirate ship. Fortunately, his granddaughter has chosen to live in the house, aptly named Shell Cottage in Cullenstown, Ireland.