New wave of smart cities has arrived - and they're nothing like science fiction

Jul 22, 2019 13:34 pm UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

An abandoned mine shaft beneath the town of Mansfield, England is an unlikely place to shape the future of cities. But here, researchers from the nearby University of Nottingham are planning to launch a deep farm that...

Friday essay: why old is new again - the mid-century homes made famous by Don's Party and Dame Edna

Jul 21, 2019 11:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

Of all the mantras for modernism, the one I think most befitting for Australian mid-century modern houses is Lesprit Nouveau The New Spirit. These houses represented more than style; they reflected a new Australian spirit...

Houses for a warmer future are currently restricted by Australia's building code

Jul 10, 2019 00:31 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

Australian houses use significantly more electricity to stay warm or cool than estimated during the design stage. To design a new house in Australia, the building needs to meet the national construction code. One way to...

If it's voluntary for developers to make affordable housing deals with councils, what can you expect?

Jun 07, 2019 15:54 pm UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

Housing in Australia is broken. Across the country, only 2% of private rentals are affordable for a person on the minimum wage. Less than 1% are affordable for a single person on the pension. There are 650,000 households...

Real estate agents targeting tenants is the lowest of the low blows during election 2019

May 16, 2019 03:25 am UTC| Real Estate Politics

The lowest blow of this election campaign may have come from a firm of real estate agents that abused its position of trust to scare renters about Labors proposed negative gearing changes. If you are one of those...

Rent or buy: does the British obsession with home ownership pay off?

Apr 05, 2019 10:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

Unlike the Germans, who are a nation of renters, the desire to be a homeowner is firmly rooted in the British psyche. In 2003, the proportion of UK households owning their own home reached a peak of almost 71%. While it...

Berlin's grassroots plan to renationalise up to 200,000 ex-council homes from corporate landlords

Mar 06, 2019 14:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law Real Estate

In major cities throughout the world, the price of housing is on the rise: in 2017 alone, prices leaped by 20.5% in Berlin, 16% in Vancouver and 14.8% in Hong Kong. As rents keep going up, activists in Berlin are...