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Australia’s federal government looks like it’s digging its heels in on gas but be warned, cooking with it is bad for your health. And while rangehoods can help, not all of them were created equal. In fact, the best ones are so loud people don’t turn them on.
Home wellness company Delos says people are starting to recognise the role a healthy home plays in promoting strong immunity that has the best chance of fighting infections such as the coronavirus. If you can steer clear of the bogus claims about vitamins and specialist diets that promise to turbocharge your immunity, there really are […]
Jay is an international student at the Canberra University of Technology. When she and her housemate both lost their jobs in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, their landlord reacted in the worst possible way: he refused to reduce the rent, instead increasing it by $15 per week. Jay and millions of renters like her […]
With the elderly community most at risk, seniors’ housing for retirement living and aged care is at the coalface of change to manage COVID-19 and any future infectious diseases. For the past few months, the focus of seniors’ living providers, especially those offering residential aged care, has been literally on staying alive and protecting their […]
There are many barriers to energy retrofits in the community housing sector – which needs them most – but here’s a thought: what about combining government funding with private impact-linked private capital to kickstart the economy post-Covid at the same time?
RESIDENTIAL SPECIAL REPORT: The residential market has been slow to move the needle on sustainability, particularly on energy performance. Now things are changing. There’s a long list of reasons why the home builder market has been slow to move on sustainability, including how it’s marketed to consumers. However, there’s promising signs that we’re on the […]
There has been a lot of talk by developer lobby groups about the need to unclog the planning system to assist economic recovery post COVID 19. And the NSW government is putting out media releases saying that rapid approvals are injecting billions of dollars into the state’s economy. Thinking that approvals are going to lead […]
It’s hard to think of more visceral impact on our sense of wellbeing than the thought of losing our home.
Metricon, Rawson Homes and Stockland are among the home builders signed up to pilot the Green Building Council of Australia’s new Green Star rating tool for homes, currently out for consultation. Residential has long trailed other asset classes on sustainability, which is why homes are the “the next logical step” for the Green Star treatment. […]
The pitch to replace stamp duty with a broad-based land tax is seeing a new surge of advocacy. Just in the past few days the Reserve Bank Governor together with state Treasurers in both NSW and Victoria have all weighed into this debate once again, arguing that such a transition is now an urgent priority.
Readers may be surprised to hear that there was much in the Tim Sneesby editorial published in The Fifth Estate on 21 April 2020 which the Urban Taskforce agrees. But there were a few “cheap-shots” at the private sector property and construction sector generally, and the Urban Taskforce in particular, that merit a response. Firstly, […]
Sydney based developer Romeciti has agreed to pay more than $40 million to buy a second site for its “Green and Smart” residential project offering at Macquarie Park, 28 kilometres north west of Sydney. The deal follows lengthy negotiations with the owners of 36 strata title units to amalgamate the site.
To celebrate Sustainable House Day in 2019, Metricon Homes launched its first ever Zero Net Carbon Home.
Now we’re not saying this has anything to do with the Covid19 inspired run on toilet paper; the trend to more sustainable toilets and bathrooms is already well developed.
Governments are expected to make key decisions on housing energy performance by the end of 2021 that will determine policy for years to come. Now is the time to strike.
Quality and supply are the biggest issues facing the residential market at the moment according to TOGA Development & Construction chief executive officer Fabrizio Perilli. On the former, Perilli believes there’s merit in most of NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s plans to overhaul the building and construction industry. “But the devil is in the detail. […]
Sydney home buyers are still wary about the quality of new apartments, with the market for houses bouncing back much faster than the high-volume unit market in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The Hogeweyk dementia village in the Netherlands is like The Truman Show. The community is designed to look identical to the outside world, complete with nurses, doctors and carers dressed in plain clothes. Specialist dementia villages are just one way this sector is evolving – The Fifth Estate has taken a closer look at alternatives that turn traditional senior living on its head.
It dawned on me one night in January, as I tossed and turned in my room in my inner-city Sydney terrace, that my summers might be sleepless forever.
“When we first entered the house after our return from Canberra, four days after the fire, the air inside was cool and smoke-free in contrast to the outside air.”
The prefab industry makes sense if you want to lessen the risk of time and price blowouts of regular construction. Already there is a pick up in demand after the recent bushfires and if California is any guide that’s a trend that will only accelerate.
Four Twenty Seven, a climate risk rating company acquired by Moody’s last year says wealthy areas in California hit by devastating fires experienced a mini real estate boom. Not so much in poorer areas.
In 2018, the US state of California saw its worst-ever bushfire season on record. The Fifth Estate spoke to US architect and sustainable design guru David Hertz about what the region learnt about designing and managing infrastructure in the face of ever-increasing fire risk.
A new survey from Stockland reveals evolving preferences among residential buyers for sustainability, especially environmental and community features.
More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in Australia since the start of the bushfire season. More will certainly be destroyed before the season ends in March. Could these houses have been built to better withstand fire?
We might think of our homes as sanctuaries from the outside world but many houses actually have poor indoor air and water quality and are throwing our natural sleeping habits out of whack. Fortunately, a few technology tweaks can make all the difference, according to an offshoot of the WELL standard that’s infiltrated deeply into the Australian […]
Driven by the success of sharing economy-platforms such as Uber and Airbnb, two young Australians have launched a website they claim is the “Tinder of home ownership” in order to help more people break into the property market.
More than 80 organisations from Australia’s community, housing and corporate sectors have signed an open letter to the prime minister Scott Morrison demanding greater investment in social housing.
OXYGEN FILES: The design, supply and affordability of housing for older Australians isn’t keeping up with our rapidly aging population, say experts. But the solutions aren’t straightforward.
Residents of Stockland homes may be able to snag a discount on their rooftop solar thanks to a new national scheme recently launched by the developer.
