News Bulletin
Who owns the biggest house in the world?
Also in the news this week, building approvals rise; a look at reverse mortgages; and how to avoid having your home cost $100 a week for energy…
Apartments lift approvals in March
Building approvals grew by a healthy 15.3 per cent in March 2010, according to figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The increase was driven by a massive 51.2 per cent increase in units and semi-detached approvals (seasonally adjusted) and a 0.5 per cent increase in detached dwelling approvals.
Who needs reverse mortgages?
""Life needs, lifestyle and smart money"- these are the main reasons why older homeowners apply for reverse mortgages, according to research released this month by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).
AHURI has published its findings in a report titled Reverse mortgages and older people: growth factors and implications for retirement decisions, which looks at the subject from the dual viewpoints of consumer and broker.
Green home audit scam
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has issued a warning that some consumers have received phone calls from a person or persons purporting to be from a GBCA call centre.
The caller claims that the GBCA is operating a program in conjunction with the federal government to conduct environmental checks on people's homes.
Energy costs put heat on housing design
"The possible tripling of energy costs within the next ten years has placed the heat on current housing design principles, building advisory service Archicentre warned this week.
An energy-wise home requires a complex mix of well-insulated, high thermal mass, intelligent glazing and ventilation, as well as optimal orientation and the inclusion of energy-saving appliances.
Burger the candle at both ends
While most fast food restaurants rely on visual images and past experience to draw people back to the counter time and time again, one savvy burger chain in the US has found a way to bring tantalising advertisements into homes via a different sense.
Famous for their miniature burgers, White Castle are now offering burger-scented candles. Served up in a rectangular ceramic holder in the likeness of a box the burgers come in, it's one ad you can't avoid by changing the channel.
According to NY Daily News, net proceeds will be donated to a charity for Autism.
Biggest dam home in the neighbourhood
"One of the best things about living in the sticks is that you can build big and no one around really notices or complains.
An ecologist in Canada has discovered a home the size of eight football pitches while using Google Earth and NASA satellite technology to research the rate of melting permafrost in the country's far north, BBC reports.
The residents are none other than industrious beavers, living in the 850m dam - believed to be the largest in the world. The beavers are thought to have started building it in the 1970s.