News
Small apartments, big headaches
CHRISTINA ZHOU 2:13pm From tilt-away beds to hidden storage, landlords and tenants are using innovative ways to maximise space as apartments become smaller and smaller. But while these inner-city pads might appear cheap and a chance for first-home buyers to get a foothold on the property ladder, experts are warning of financial perils.
From the Drawing Board
Little house, great room
Trisha Croaker Great public rooms can maximise space in small houses.
Weekend
Aggressive bids pour down with the rain
Anita Balalovski After a three-week campaign and more than 300 group inspections, a crowd of 70 attended the 12A Cullen Street, Lane Cove West, auction on Saturday and saw it sell for $1.21 million.
An up-and-coming suburb can do your head in
Jayne D'Arcy Pioneers in a gentrifying suburb should be prepared to compromise, writes Jayne D'Arcy.
Auction Action
Auction results show market rewarding vendors selling early
Stephen Cooper Judging by Saturday's auction results, the property market is in good health.
Market Wrap
Cheaper home loans fuelling real estate sales
Chris Tolhurst Competition between mortgage providers is pushing rates down and putting a spark in the market.
Best Streets
Best streets: Moonee Ponds
Jayne D'Arcy Ardmillan Road has maintained its charm since being voted 'Most Attractive Street'.
$525,000 above reserve in McMahons Point
TOBY JOHNSTONE The waterfront home sold for $3.725 million while Sydney records a strong clearance rate of 81 per cent.
Home & Away - Design trends
Front to back transformation
Jenny Brown The private, rear sections of houses are now getting as much design attention as the street frontages.
Sydney
Smart buys
Danny Corvini Domain looks at some of the best value houses and apartments on offer.
Holiday Homes
The Escape
Danny Corvini The valley views are mesmerising and the interior supports that focus in its crisp, minimal modernity.
New Homes
Position still reigns supreme
Susan Wellings In a quiet street and close to the city, this St Leonards project is handy to most things.
Private Property
Hometown calls TV celebrity
David Adams Julie Zemiro has put her Fitzroy apartment on the market and plans to move back to Sydney.
Melbourne
Apartment of the week
Katherine Townsend Apartment 53, part of the 1980s back section, would be an upgrade in size and style for many residents.
Melbourne
Look past the showtime glitz
Christina Zhou Deciding on the biggest financial commitment of your life requires research and assessment, not just infatuation.
Melbourne
Three of the best: Black Rock
Michelle Ostrow Zukerman The suburb was named after Black Rock House, a grand residence built by Charles Ebden in 1856.
New Homes
Easy entry without the expense
Katherine Townsend New low-rise apartments will allow residents to enjoy the charms of Clifton Hill.
Melbourne
Smart buys
Katherine Townsend and Christina Zhou Domain looks at some of the best value houses and apartments on offer.
Innovation
Down to earth
Jenny Brown A sloping wedged-shaped site prompted a responsive design that produced a large, flowing family house.
Private Property
Sydney calls TV celebrity
David Adams Julie Zemiro lists her Fitzroy apartment and plans to move back to Sydney.
Sydney
Apartment of the week
Anita Balalovski The conception and birth of this converted warehouse apartment is just as inspiring as the design.
Home & Away - Investment Opportunities
Building value
Kate Farrelly A small block of apartments may be the perfect place to invest.
Sydney
Even if it's love at first sight...
CHRISTINA ZHOU Buyers should take the time to look beyond the window dressing at open homes, say the experts.
Sydney
House of the week
LUCY MACKEN This freestanding, double-fronted, Federation home tucked behind King Street was always going to be popular among the locals.
Rental Rants Vic
Bad-tenant blacklist blues
Jimmy Thomson It's a chilling moment - you're about to rent somewhere, only to discover you're blacklisted.
Title Deeds
Miner offers rare Woollahra gem
LUCY MACKEN It's not every day you find designer digs on a quarter-acre block in this ritzy neighbourhood.
Flat Chat Victoria
DIY strata oversight goes online
Jimmy Thomson As strata life has become more complicated, amateur management models no longer cut it.
Rental Rants NSW
Rise in tenant complaints
Jimmy Thomson Tenancy complaints to Fair Trading shot up from 772 in 2012 to 862 last year.
Flat Chat NSW
Sky's the limit for DIY strata
Jimmy Thomson Did you know about half the state's strata schemes don't have professional strata managers?
Diplomats show interest in award-winning home
MEREDITH CLISBY It's only been on the market for a week, but already agents are fielding inquiries for an award-winning home in O'Malley.
Prestige
Auction fever spreads to top-end property
LUCY MACKEN As the market heats up, more of Sydney's top-end vendors are ditching secretive expression of interest campaigns in favour of more transparent auctions.
Weekend
Busiest February for auctions on record as owners rush to sell
TOBY JOHNSTONE Sydney is experiencing the busiest February for auctions in the city's history, and more monthly records are likely to topple in the lead-up to Easter.
Redcliffe
Eccentric's Redcliffe mansion goes for $5.3m
AMY REMEIKIS They were known as the “His and Hers” mansions, built, as a mega-rich solution to dealing with differing living habits.
ACT
Crace on the rise
Rachel Packham The master-planned suburb of Crace has a new boutique development on the way and it's already proving popular with buyers.
ACT
Just add a garden and watch your values grow
Sue Williams Even a few thousand dollars spent on your outdoor space can make a big difference, say experts.
Market
NAB flags further growth for Sydney
TOBY JOHNSTONE But a handful of suburbs are likely to far outpace the rest.
Building
Dream homes turn into nightmares for Canberra buyers
Noel Towell and Matthew Raggatt The net is closing on a Canberra building company accused of leaving home buyers in the lurch with unfinished houses.
Melbourne
They're back - first home buyers trickle into the market
CHRISTINA ZHOU It is a trickle rather than a flood, but the latest data confirms that first home buyers are coming back to the market.
Economy
Australian homes worth $5tn
Rebecca Thistleton Australia’s homes are now worth a massive $5 trillion, with the value of the nation’s residences jumping a huge $184 billion the last three months of 2013 alone.
Building
Green light for bigger backyard granny flats
MEREDITH CLISBY Homeowners in the ACT can now build larger granny flats in their backyards following the approval of an amendment to the city's territory plan.
First home buyers better off starting as landlords
Christina Zhou, Toby Johnstone First home buyers forced out of the property market by investors are joining enemy ranks. They are becoming first home ''investors''.
To Market
All Saints house no longer on call
ANTONY LAWES They're the houses featured on the telly - in advertisements and in soap operas.
The Drawing Board
One-bedroom flat over garage a traveller's bolt-hole
Trisha Croaker Downsizing taken to the max in one fell swoop, or a clever property strategy?
Celebrity
Scarlett Johansson snaps up Hamptons retreat
Lucy Macken Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has bought herself a Hamptons Beach house, privately set back from the water, for US$2.2 million ($2.46 million).
Love your garden
Why green thumbs will never sour on citrus
Jason Hodges The humble lemon, orange and lime trees are much more than a source of fresh fruit for the family. They are also beautiful ornamental trees with lush, green foliage year-round and sweet-smelling flowers.
Melbourne
Best streets: East Brunswick
Jayne D'Arcy With plenty of family-sized homes with north-facing backyards, and a park running almost its length, the stretch of Victoria Street from Nicholson to Lygon Street has to be considered one of the area's best.
Feature
Historic designs hold fresh appeal
Chris Tolhurst Fixed supply is only one of a number of reasons why period homes sell strongly.
Selling
With home staging every property tells a story
Joshua Jennings New furnishings can recharge a buyer's imagination.
Market Wrap
Interest rates hold draws out auction crowds
Chris Tolhurst Buyers were active after the Reserve Bank flagged stability.
HOME STYLE
'Ugly' abode a real beauty
Stephen Crafti Where some people look at an unfashionable house and shudder, others see potential.
NSW
Record smashed in Sydney's famous laneway
STEPHEN NICHOLLS Unrenovated one-bedder on 51 sq m fetches $745,000 as clearance rate hits 84.4 percent.
Urban Legends
The Boyd effect
Jenny Brown Robin Boyd died young, with just eight major buildings to his name, but left a legacy of influence on our styles.
Melbourne
Smart buys
Katherine Townsend and Christina Zhou Domain looks at some of the best value houses and apartments on offer.
