HomeMate.com.au

A logjam of concerns are aligning to pull new housing construction figures to the levels of post GFC. The February new home approvals figures show that new house construction, both single family homes and multi unit developments are down, but is that a real concern to the economy at large. As with most problems we [...]

New home sales have slowed again in late December and early January in most States, and the housing market is off to a poor start in 2012 The Housing Industry Association [HIA], reports that house contracts sales have fallen in December 2011 and January 2012, a survey of Australia’s 100 largest builders shows a decline [...]

Joel Kotlin is an expert in city living and has studied trends of cities  and fertility rates around the World. But is he right about Sydney’s high density housing making you infertile ? I say no, and for several reasons. Firstly Australia’s fertility rate has been dropping since the pill was introduced. Secondly people are [...]

Is the housing shortage real, or just a trumped up story to give home buyers the hurry up. I have changed my mind over the past two years. After repeating the story for years on my blogs of a growing housing shortage in Australia believing it to be true, I now believe it might have [...]

Do Australians really want townhouses and apartments over a single house on a block? I doubt it, but that’s what a recent survey found. A recent article on Australians suggested that Australian home buyers were more interested in an apartment or a townhouse than in a quarter acre block. The great Australian dream of owning [...]

Central Coastal New South Wales Gosford City Council is moving to abolish the right of home owners & property investors to build dual occupancies and cluster housing in certain zoned areas, under a new local environment plan [LEP]. The LEP is awaiting NSW State Government approval. Planners and developers say this will severely restrict the [...]

As new home buyers sit on the side lines waiting to see what Federal and State Governments do next about housing affordability, home builders are feeling the pinch as the construction industry slump reaches it first birthday. I don’t buy that interest rates are too high. Interest rates are normal. The problem is that new [...]