Household pets are a life-changing companion – they’re renowned stress busters, immunity boosters, exercise motivators, and cute to boot. While most of us are happy about welcoming a furry addition to our home, most of us would prefer it didn’t turn our aesthetically pleasing abodes into a pet den with fur-covered furniture and pet accessory chaos around every corner.

Metropolitan living comes hand in hand with hustle and bustle – vibrant nightlife, seemingly endless eateries to explore and amenities easily on hand. But with an almost doubled cost of living compared to rural or regional living, keeping up with your city lifestyle often comes coupled with a few compromises.

In recent years, you’ve probably come across TV shows, YouTube channels or reels on social media showcasing tiny homes that squeeze sustainability, simple living and affordability into an impossibly small package.

Imagine a whimsical concept where you swap homes with strangers for a weekend, immersing yourself in the lifestyle and sampling all the local community offers. While it might be a light-hearted idea, it ticks one crucial aspect of purchasing a property: testing the waters before making a very significant investment.

The latest CoreLogic Housing Value Index report highlights crucial trends that landlords should be aware of as Australia’s property market continues to evolve. While opportunities remain, the current landscape calls for mindful management and an understanding of tenant challenges.

Australia’s housing market remains a mixed bag, with CoreLogic’s October data revealing subtle but telling shifts. Homeowners and prospective buyers will want to stay tuned as the market navigates affordability pressures and fluctuating values.

We’ve all experienced that slightly off feeling of walking into our own homes (or other people’s) when things are not in their place, the furniture arrangement doesn’t seem right, the curtains are drawn, blocking the glorious sunshine, or the energy just feels different. While you might not have put your finger on it then, that off feeling could be due to poor Feng Shui.

The humble honeybee is crucial to our global ecosystems; it’s a pint-sized environmental warrior responsible for pollinating around 30-35% of the world’s food crops. With tens of thousands of bee species, we rely on them not only for pollination but also to produce honey for our morning toast and the wax used in our cosmetics, candles, pharmaceuticals, and so much more.

While we might be shaking off the winter blues, shaking off the pinch of inflation, higher costs of living and all-around tightened purse strings may not be so easy – but that’s no reason to stay in your winter cocoon.

Australia’s property market is shifting, and landlords are at the forefront of this evolution. The latest CoreLogic Housing Value Index reveals both challenges and opportunities for rental property owners, as growth in housing values slows and the rental market cools. While landlords may not see the same rapid increases in rents that characterised the post-pandemic market, there are still strategic decisions to be made for those looking to maximise their investments.

Spring has brought a subtle shift in Australia’s property market, with national home values edging up 0.4% in September 2024, according to CoreLogic’s Housing Value Index. While the numbers point to overall market strength, prospective first-home buyers might feel caught between opportunity and affordability.

It’s no secret that entering the property market is challenging here in Australia, particularly for our younger generations. Property prices have outpaced wage growth, the cost of living pressures are mounting, and interest rates have risen, making lending conditions challenging.