The world is quickly grasping the tiny home concept and looking at these homes it’s no wonder!  They may be small in size but there is just so much to love about these gorgeous designs.  What’s your favourite?
​

Patrick Wood, ABC News Breakfast
31 October 2017

​The micro-home fascination is building in Australia as those driven out of the traditional housing market turn to alternative designs.

Author and researcher Catherine Foster has travelled Australia to document how 21 architects have made functional living spaces in 90 square metres or less.

"We're not inventing the wheel, we are repurposing the wheel," she told News Breakfast.

"A few generations ago here in Australia, 90 square metres was a family house.

"It is only in comparatively recent decades that it has crept up and crept up and crept up."
​
Ms Foster has now released a book, Small House Living Australia, to showcase her findings and outline the floorplans that work.

PHOTO: The inside of the retreat shows how simple the designs can be. (Supplied: Peter Clarke)​

PHOTO: A floorplan of the Balnarring Retreat in Victoria. (Supplied: Branch Studio Architects)​
​

​A CommSec study found the average new-home build in Australia in 2015/16 was 231 square metres — just shy of the US average of 249sq/m.

A recent study by Griffith University research fellow Heather Shearer also found a growing interest in small homes in the past two years.
​
She found people were primarily drawn to the concept for economic reasons, rather than an aesthetic desire.

PHOTO: The floorplan for The Copper House in Sydney. (Supplied: Takt Studio for Architecture)
​

"In a possible reflection of the strong demand for urban living, the most important driver was, 'Too expensive property in preferred area'," Ms Shearer wrote.

"Then came: wanting to reduce overall debt, not wanting a mortgage, wishing to downsize, and housing too expensive in general."

Ms Foster said she found people were seeking flexibility as well as affordability, and that lifestyle was a big factor.

"Young people are [saying] 'get me a home' and 'we would rather it not be out in the suburbs an hour along the motorway, we would rather be close to our community'," she said.
​
"Older people, perhaps downsizing and Baby Boomers are going, 'We want to free up ourselves. We want to go travelling. We want to have a small place where we can go for coffee at the end of the street'."

PHOTO: The Doll's House in Melbourne hides behind a simple facade. (Supplied: Fraser Marsden)​

PHOTO: The floorplans for The Doll's House. (Supplied: Studio Edwards)
​

​When it came to successfully creating a smaller living space, Ms Foster said they key word was "multifunctional".

"No longer do you have a dedicated room for a laundry or a dedicated room for a TV or whatever. You are going to have those shared," she said.
​
"The dining room would be an integrated thing within the living space … they are all there."

Logan City Council has announced this week that as of 1 July 2018, new granny flats and other auxiliary dwellings will be hit with a further $23,000 infrastructure charge… what are your thoughts on this, fair or unfair?  And is it really the solution to halting overcrowded developments with inadequate parking and facilities??
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Quest Newspapers
November 3, 2017

Logan to charge $23K for rentable granny flats otherwise known as auxiliary units.
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DEVELOPERS of rentable granny flats in Logan City will be slugged with infrastructure­ charges of $23,000 as of July 1.

The date was agreed on last week after some developers complained an abrupt change in the rules would unfairly leave property investors­ out of pocket.

Complaints were mainly from those who had bought blocks of land but were yet to get council approval to build two rentable units.

The council decided last month to crack down on the practice, known as auxiliary units, after residents’ complaints about the lack of parking and pressure on sewers and local parks.

The average infrastructure charge for an auxiliary unit, or rentable granny flat, in Logan will be $23,000 and will be levied at the plumbing and drainage approval stage.

Division 5 councillor Jon Raven said the charges were critical to discourage entire streets of dual occupancies being built.

“But we also need a reasonable time frame. March would be my first preference, but aligning payments with the financial year makes sense and gives investors time to plan for the changes,” he said.
​
An officer told last week’s City Growth committee a minimum lot size of 700sq m and a minimum 18m frontage would slow the practice.

It’s been a long time coming, but now the proof is out there… women are just as good (and often better!) at making smart decisions when it comes to property investment! 
 
It’s great to see that women are successfully taking control of their future!
​

Aidan Devine, The Daily Telegraph
October 13, 2017

​Women are putting a new twist on the outdated and somewhat offensive suggestion their place is in the home — by making more profit from home ownership than men.
 
Analysis of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) figures has revealed women are proving more adept at investing in real estate over the long term, buying properties with better returns and long-term growth.
 
The proportion of women who own an investment property has also risen at a faster rate than men in recent years, despite women earning less than blokes on average.
 
Calla Property’s Susan Farquhar, who mentors men and women on getting into the market, said Aussie women were better investors because they took a keener interest in property and were more comfortable committing to a mortgage at a younger age.
 
They were also better at saving for a deposit, more inclined to seek advice and less prone to risky investments, she said.
 
“Women tend to start when they’re below 35, often when they’re still single,” Ms Farquhar said. “Much fewer men will invest when they’re single and they tend to wait till they’re older and in a secure relationship.”
 
Women’s keener focus may help explain changes in the gender balance of property ownership.
 
Roughly 13 per cent of women taxpayers owned an investment property in 2010 but in five years the figure rose to 15.2 per cent, according to ATO data.
 
In the same period, the proportion of men with an investment property was fairly consistent, going from just under 15 per cent to 15.7 per cent.
 
Men were also more likely to rely on negative gearing benefits, claiming an average $9904 per property in the 2014/15 financial year compared with $7253 for women.
 
About 47 per cent of all investment properties are now owned by women.

​BEFORE: Investor Carla Barton's property in Dulwich Hill purchased for $505,000 and later sold for $640,000.

​This success in the property market mirrored results in other asset classes, such as shares. A US study of 8 million investors in 2016 by investment firm Fidelity revealed women outperformed males by 0.4 per cent over the year.
 
Investment tracking app Openfolio revealed a similar trend after evaluating 60,000 American investors, showing women’s returns performed better in the past three years.
 
Property Women mentoring group director Jo Vadillo said women often lacked confidence, which tended to be an advantage.
 
“They know they need to do research,” Ms Vadillo said.
 
“They are not easily impressed with glossy sales speak or agents’ sharp suits and cars.
 
They look at the house and the numbers, assess who the tenants will be and take the time to conduct due diligence.”

​A lower appetite for risk was another key advantage for women, Ms Farquhar said.
 
“Men are more likely to gamble and take risks, so more will buy in ‘hot spots’ or mining towns,” she said. “Women take a longer-term focus and want to minimise their risk. That’s vital for being successful ... because it’s a long-term thing.”
 
Investor Carla Barton, 31, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars from flipping houses in her spare time and said she attributed her success to a cautious approach.
 
“I’ll only buy homes 15km from the Sydney CBD because I know it’s very difficult to lose money there,” Ms Barton said.
 
She recently bought a unit in Dulwich Hill for $505,000, renovated it for $40,000, and sold for $640,000. She’s now renovating a Leichhardt house for $1.2 million in a joint venture.
 
Investor Diana Lovasi, 34, is onto her third property deal, despite only starting investing just four years ago on a $55,000 a year income.
 
“I feel like women have to start earlier,” Ms Lovasi said. “If you want to have children and take time off work to care for them you have to sort out your finances when you’re younger.”

Call Sonia on 0403 309 136
​

A great article here showing what tenants and buyers are putting at the top of their wish lists!  Pools and granny flats can add so much appeal to your property, creating both lifestyle and financial attractions.  Even something as simple as adding a shed might just make your property stand out above the one down the road.  The article may be written about WA properties but our experience tells us that it’s just the same here in QLD! Have a think about what you can do to your property to make it more in demand…
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Why pools rule the real estate hunt
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Josh Zimmerman, PerthNow
October 8, 2017

​PROPERTY hunters scouring the internet have pools and granny flats at the top of their wish list, while Mandurah is the most popular suburb for real estate clicks.

Mandurah has powered to the top of realestate.com.au search ranks thanks to retirees looking to cash in on their ageing Perth homes and escape the hustle and bustle of city life, according to property experts.

The coastal community topped WA search rankings for the past two years and is on track to defend its crown again in 2017, with more than 172,000 searches up to last month.

Swimming pools are by far the most sought-after feature, racking up more than 101,220 searches this year, with hard-to-shift adult children and the revenue on offer through short-stay accommodation leading granny flats (23,600) into second.

REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Mandurah’s popularity reflected a growing trend across Australia.
​
“The kind of lifestyle on offer is becoming more and more important for people buying a house but they also don’t want to pay too much for the privilege of being near amenities or the beach,” she said.
With a median house price of $290,000, Mandurah remains significantly cheaper than the Perth average of around $500,000.

​Ms Conisbee said swimming pools consistently topped search rankings nationwide and granny flats were becoming more sought after as children waited longer to leave the nest and, since the advent of websites such as Airbnb, were also viewed as lucrative money-spinners in the right location.

“If you’re in Scarborough or Mandurah or a nice beachy area, having a granny flat for short-term accommodation definitely offers a financial return,” Ms Conisbee said.

Raine and Horne real estate sales consultant Randolph Watson said he was enjoying the busiest period of his six-year career with over-50s flocking to join Mandurah’s laid-back coastal community.
“Mandurah has always been known as a holiday destination and has that holiday feel year round,” Mr Watson said. “We’ve got the most extensive canal system in the whole of WA and a water lifestyle that no other region can offer.”

Mr Watson said Mandurah also boasted world-class health facilities, extensive shopping and easy access to Perth by rail.

He said many Mandurah buyers were motivated by the value on offer, especially retirees looking to unlock equity in family homes closer to Perth.
​
“Often the homes they are living in are getting old and dated,” he said. “They can come to the Mandurah or Peel region and find the lifestyle they want, buy a home that is much more modern and also bank some cash.”

​After years living in Canning Vale, David and Lesley Wakefield recently bought a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a swimming pool on a 750sqm block in Pinjarra, just outside Mandurah.
​
“We don’t want to be living on top of anybody else,” Mrs Wakefield said. “Pinjarra is even slower-paced than Mandurah which is a big attraction for us. We’ve got no need for shopping and big crowds.”

Our experience tells us that tenants and buyers and looking for the same things here in South East Queensland!  Talk to us about ways to enhance your property to ensure you are getting top returns when it comes time to rent or sell.
​

Call Sonia and the team on 0403 309 136 – we’re here to help!
​

Just announced by Logan City Council, they too are set to tighten laws relating to rentable granny flats.  Read below to see how it may affect you…
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Judith Kerr, Quest Newspapers
October 19, 2017

​LOGAN CITY Council is set to tighten laws for rentable granny flats, planning to set the minimum lot size at 700sq m, introduce a minimum road frontage of 18m and infrastructure charges.

​An officer told last week’s City Growth committee auxiliary units were included in the Planning Scheme two years ago and had successfully provided a mix of housing choices. But his call to extend a 12-month review of the housing style was rejected when the council opted to tighten the laws immediately.

Cr Stacey McIntosh (Div6) said interstate investors were taking advantage having two rentable properties without having to pay infrastructure charges.

“There are real-estate agents going around Bethania asking people to pull down their houses to build these units because it’s such a good investment,” she said. “But there is a social impact with no parking and inaccessible blocks.”
​
Council will amend its definition of auxiliary units to incorporate the changes, instead of amending the Planning Scheme.

From the moment their cuteness wears off and is replaced by smelly socks, empty fridges and rusty old cars parked on the front lawn, we all start dreaming of the day our beloved offspring will venture out into the world on their own.  But with children now staying at home well into their 20’s or even 30’s, what can we do to help give them a gentle nudge (or in some cases an almighty push!) towards independence?

​Whether they stay at home or leave the nest, there can be financial repercussions for Mums and Dads…
​

Vanessa DeGroot, Domain
October 1, 2017

​For many cultures, having children stay at home is the norm. It’s also beneficial for some parents as they provide company, especially for single mums and dads, as well as (hopefully) helping, both with household chores and financially. It can even help pay off your home if you’re receiving board.

​But many parents do want their children to leave home, despite fears they can’t, or won’t. A recent Galaxy survey done for Stockspot found 74 per cent of parents with children aged under 17 feared they would never leave home and 85 per cent were worried their children wouldn’t be able to afford their own home.

The Bank of Mum and Dad has certainly had a mighty good workout in recent years, with adult children are staying at home for longer.

Many parents want their children to leave home, despite fears they can't, or won't.

The most recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show in 2012-2013, 31 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 had never left home, which had increased from 27 per cent in 2006-07, with the major reason being financial. Chances are, with deteriorating housing affordability, these figures haven’t changed much, with young people staying at home longer to help save a deposit for their own home.

But while house prices are an impediment, interestingly the Galaxy survey found 62 per cent of parents thought spending habits of their offspring were an issue.

Whatever you do to help, consider the financial repercussions for you. Chances are it will affect your future and hinder your retirement.

Research from Canstar has also shockingly found that adult children were borrowing from their parents well into their 30s, not just to buy a home but to pay everyday bills. It found half of over-18s were borrowing money from their parents, with one in five 18 to 37-year-olds borrowing weekly or monthly.
​
Herein lies one of the answers to getting your offspring to leave the nest – teach them about finances, including the value of money, banking, budgeting and saving, ideally from a very young age.

​Setting up a bank account for your children at an early age will help them develop an understanding of budgeting.

You should set up a bank account for them early on, which should be the starting point for saving and could provide the beginnings of a house deposit. If they’re already grown and they haven’t yet been educated, start teaching them how to be financially independent now. It’s never too late.

While housing affordability is an issue, perhaps these adult children are just getting it too good, and there’s no great incentive to leave home. Have them pay you board and contribute to everyday household chores, which will prepare them to fly the coop by becoming more responsible.

But to get them to actually bite the bullet and move out, you can try a few things.

One tactic to get the ball rolling is to set a moving day.
​
The first is to set a moving day deadline. Life skills coach Michele Jones recently advised parents to kick their children out by the age of 20.

​Perhaps 20 is a little harsh, but the idea that they need to be forced to stand on their own two feet absolutely makes sense. There’s no better way to learn how to be responsible and pay your own way, and it will boost their self-esteem.

If you want them to move into a home they own rather than renting, you can wait until they’ve saved enough of a deposit, but if that’s too far into the future you can help them by either giving or lending them money. Maybe you can even sock away the board they’ve been paying you and give it back in a lump sum so they can use it as a deposit.

Another option is also to offer a family guarantee, which is an increasingly common way for parents to help their adult children get into home ownership. It involves allowing them to use the equity in your home to buy their own home.
​
Whatever you do to help, consider the financial repercussions for you. Chances are it will affect your future and hinder your retirement. But then again, you can always ask the kids to repay the favour in your later years!

Searching for a way to get your home back?
We can help you to find the perfect property, whether it’s for you or the kids!
 
Call Sonia on 0403 309 136 today!

It’s a question we get asked frequently when homeowners are looking at selling their family home …  should you search for your dream home before you sell?  Or should you sell up first, so that you’re ready for action the moment you come across the perfect home?  There are a lot of “what if’s” and “maybe’s”, and you need to take advice from the right people – those with local expertise, knowledge and experience …
​

Nicola Powell, Domain
September 22, 2017

​Deciding whether to sell your current home or buy a new home first is the eternal real estate question. It’s similar to which came first, the chicken or the egg? There is no defining answer. When it comes to property, your best bet is to be as strategic as possible.
​
It is a stressful time when it comes to selling your biggest asset and moving to new pastures. For any move on the property ladder, whether upsizing or downsizing, the aim is for the process to be smooth.

​Ideally, the two transactions will occur in the same property cycle.

In a perfect world, the buying and selling aspects would be as close together as possible. But, like anything, the perfect scenario is hard to create.

Ultimately, it depends on whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market. Ideally the two transactions would occur in the same property cycle.

In a seller’s market, it is assumed you should be able to quickly sell… Under this market dynamic, buying a home first should be less risky.

Rewind a couple of years. In the June quarter of 2015, Sydney’s median house price gained 8.4 per cent, according to Domain data. Since then, the level of growth has slowed, increasing 1.6 per cent in the June quarter of 2017.

This highlights the importance of understanding the market before embarking on your property journey.

In a market swayed towards the buyer, selling your home first is advisable. With no immediate urgency to sell, it can mean you are able to hold out for the best price achievable. Selling first means you know your buying budget for your next home.
​
You want to avoid forking out interest payments on two loans. It could see the equity you have built start to dwindle. If you do find your dream home before selling, consider leasing one of the homes.

​These two words can often horrify homeowners: bridging finance. If you buy before selling, bridging finance can cover the period in which you own two homes. This type of finance can help in a sticky situation, but can be costly and is only for the short term. For some, bridging finance brings far too much stress.

In a seller’s market, it is assumed you should be able to quickly sell, as properties tend to move off the market quickly. Under this market dynamic, buying a home first should be less risky. When, and for how much your home will sell is an unknown. It may place unnecessary pressure on you to accept the first offer without maximising the price.
​
Whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market, consider opting for a longer settlement, either for your current home or your new purchase, to allow time to find a new home or sell the old one. Make a choice that suits your personal situation so that the process can be as stress-free as possible.

​There’s nothing quite like having a local agent to guide you through your property buying/selling decisions…  we’d love to have a chat and help you if we can!
​

Give Sonia a call on 0403 309 136
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Here at Ipswich and Logan Granny Flats, we’re often approached by people looking to give their family members independence while still ensuring they are safe, secure and close by.  We’ve come across a number of reasons for this… the adult children who need their own space (but aren’t quite ready to leave the nest!)… the ageing parents who need company and help, but don’t want to give up their independence or be cared for by strangers… and the family members of all ages who need a little extra assistance and care due to illness or medical requirements. 
 
Check out this great concept of a dementia village, which will allow its residents to live, without restraint, in a safe environment…
​

Allison Worrall, Domain
September 30, 2017

​Imagine a five-acre mini-town designed specifically for people with dementia, where residents could safely take unaccompanied walks, do their grocery shopping, get a hair cut or stop by the local cafe.
 
And all of the people they met along the way — shop attendants, hairdressers, baristas — would be trained in basic dementia care.
 
It’s a bold proposal that a small, rural public hospital in Victoria is pushing, to have an entire township built for people with dementia. 

​Based on a successful Dutch model, the facility would not feel or look like an institution, but rather mimic a tiny country town.
 
The proposal for the dementia village in Heathcote, 45 kilometres south-east of Bendigo, has won the support of the state government, which contributed $150,000 towards a feasibility study.
 
The committee behind the proposal says the village would greatly enhance the lives of those living with dementia, a brain disorder that has no cure, affects more than 413,000 people across the country and has recently become the leading cause of death among Australian women. 

​In Holland, the Hogeweyk dementia village has shops, cafes and a theatre for residents.
 
The village would also create a sustainable economic model for Heathcote, injecting an estimated $15 million into the local economy each year.
 
The idea was first floated in 2014 when staff at Heathcote Health’s 42-bed aged care ward were caring for a cluster of patients with severe dementia.
 
Hospital chief executive Dan Douglass was faced with an enormous challenge. One woman was swallowing any object she could get her hands on. A man had developed sexual inhibitions and was behaving inappropriately around female residents, staff and visitors.
 
Residents would be free to walk the streets of the Heathcote Dementia Village.

​“We had another gentleman that was suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome from the war and that played out in his dementia in that everything had to be very, very quiet around him,” recalled Mr Douglass.
 
“We tried to see if we could relocate those residents to more suitable accommodation, and we found it was almost impossible to do so.”
 
At a board meeting, Mr Douglass asked his colleagues what they would do “if they had a magic wand”. A local pharmacist piped up. She would build a dementia village in Australia, right there in Heathcote.
 
The facility would be specifically designed for dementia patients, unlike traditional aged-care facilities. And, importantly, it would be a restraint-free environment.
 
“Confusion is a key issue for people with dementia,” Mr Douglass said. Busy, noisy spaces where everything looked similar could agitate residents. 
 
“For example, certain colours or patterns might look like insects so they might think insects are running all over the place,” he said. “Or if you’re walking around the facility and there’s ten doors that look the same, how do they know which one is their room?”
 
Confusion can lead to aggravation, which often results in violence towards staff, and chemical or physical restraints. 
 
“They don’t understand what they’re doing,” Mr Douglass said. “If they get frustrated, they hit out.
 
“The idea of the dementia village concept is that they would be in more home-like surrounds.”
 
Six to eight residents would live in a building that was tailored to suit their background. For example, if they were a farmer, they might live with other residents from rural areas. 
 
The residents can sleep, wake and eat when they choose, and are free to walk around the village on their own.
 
“They feel like they’re having a normal day,” Mr Douglass said. “They don’t realise they are in a facility, they think they are at home.”
 
“It’s not rocket science.”
 
Steven Abbott, manager of Bendigo council’s community partnerships, said Heathcote was ideally located because it was close to Melbourne, Bendigo and rural areas. He said the village could be expanded to include the township.
 
“As it develops and evolves over time, we want the Heathcote friendliness to actually branch out and for the Heathcote community itself to be fully dementia-friendly.”
 
Tasmania recently announced plans for Australia’s first dementia village in Glenorchy, a $25 million complex expected to open in 18 months.
 
Heathcote’s village would be different in several ways, Mr Abbott said. Firstly, it would be bigger, housing 150 patients and employing more than 200 staff, with an estimated building cost of $60 million.
 
It would also aim to expand to include the entire local community, as well as partner with rural and agriculture enterprises.
 
There are also plans to include a $25 million research facility on site, an idea that has universities lining up to be involved.
 
The committee needs to raise another $120,000 to fund business and concept planning, and have requested financial support from the federal government.
 
“If the feasibility study comes back positive, then we’re very excited this will be a real game changer for Australia,” Mr Douglass said.

Tiny houses… small, transportable dwellings or cabins, offering a basic and compact accommodation solution.  Could they be the answer to an upcoming housing shortage?  Or are granny flats and apartments what cities need to help cater for the population boom? 
The experts are looking at all the options…what are your thoughts?
​

Rob Burgess, The New Daily
14 September 2017

​For the past couple of years, economists have expected to see apartment gluts develop in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, where developers have sought to profit from soaring property prices.
 
However, new research from BIS Oxford Economics suggests that one of those capitals – Melbourne – will see no glut at all due to high immigration.
 
This makes sense when you look at the breakdown of Melbourne’s population growth.
 
In 2016, a third of it was from natural increase (births minus deaths), with the other two-thirds made up of 13 per cent net interstate migration, and 55 per cent net overseas migration.
 
Department of Immigration figures show that slightly more than two-thirds of the overseas migrants are students – who generally do pretty well in small apartments, hence the disappearance of that glut.
 
The problem going forward, though, is that the once-expected glut will quickly become a shortage again if Melbourne’s ‘education exports’ boom continues.
 
Some lobby groups would prefer that boom not to happen, arguing that a bigger priority should be preventing further population growth – too often for ill-considered ecological or racial/cultural reasons.
 
Those views are attractive to some at an emotional level, but are based on inflated claims that have been fairly well debunked in past months.
 
See, for instance, the ‘Is Australia full?‘ series of articles published on The Conversation website by demographers, economists, town-planners, human geographers, public health experts, built-environment experts, agricultural experts and cultural researchers.

​If those more moderate views prevail, and Melbourne’s education boom does continue, where will all those migrants live?
 
One solution to that problem has been proposed by the development consortium Australian Education City, which wants to build a combined residential and educational ‘city’ near Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer-west.
 
The idea is to invite numerous universities to run campuses there, and to house many of the students, staff and researchers in 30,000 new dwellings.
 
The Victorian government says a decision on that $30 billion project should be made by year’s end – “too slow” according to the shadow planning minister David Davis, who points out that the scheme was first examined when his side of politics was still in power.
 
A spokesman for the consortium told me on Thursday that, among other things, it would take some pressure off other Melbourne areas where residents don’t particularly want their suburbs to change.

​Mega-projects aren’t the only solution on offer. Planning consultant and former Victoria MP Clem Newton-Brown argued in Thursday’s Australian newspaper in favour of building ‘tiny houses’ to make use of the nation’s suburban backyards.
 
He wrote: “Tiny houses can be small, modular truck-transportable dwellings, or cabins on wheels. There are tiny-house and modular builders popping up across Australia and they are creating extraordinary buildings, nothing like the old granny flat, which in any case can be installed only to house a family member.”
 
The ‘tiny house’ idea is big in the US, and among frustrated Gen-Ys and millennials, but is it really a solution?
 
Perhaps, though in WA the much maligned ‘granny flat’ is gaining more traction.
 
That’s because the WA state government legislated in 2015 to allow ‘ancillary dwellings’ to be built in just about any backyard on blocks over 450 square metres – and unlike previously, they can be let to anyone and not just a family member.
 
Mayor of Fremantle Brad Pettitt trialled a similar scheme in the City of Fremantle in 2012 – a success, he says, which inspired the state-wide legislation.
 
The Fremantle scheme, which required building permits but no planning approval, had some unexpected results.
 
One, he said, was that empty-nesters built small dwellings for themselves in their backyards and rented out the family home out front – the reverse of what was expected, but a logical way to generate higher incomes and free up larger dwellings.
 
Mr Pettitt sees the ad hoc ‘granny flat’ approach to urban planning as “complementary” to more closely planned medium-density projects in his area such as a 150-person solar-plus-storage powered development south of Fremantle or a new ‘Gen Y’ project that aims to fill the “‘missing middle’ of medium density housing, whereby housing stock … is increasingly either low-density, single-family homes or higher-density apartments, with little choice in between”.
 
The ‘missing middle’ pretty much sums up what Australia’s cities need to build to become more liveable.
 
But whether it’s granny flats, high-rise apartments, new ‘cities’ or the “missing middle” the recent experience in Melbourne highlights the challenge at hand.
 
And the solutions to that challenge will have to be more creative that slamming the door on migration and stamping out a nascent boom.

Queensland’s housing needs are changing … and our politicians and councillors are including granny flats and the like in their plans!  New green guidelines, homes that work with our climate and are in tune with their community … it looks like they might just be getting it right!  Take a look at this excerpt from The Courier Mail article discussing the future housing plans for Brisbane City.
​

​Daryl Passmore, The Courier-Mail
September 16, 2017

​… As for housing, there is broad support from state politicians and the city council for encouraging new models, such as granny flats, duplexes, terraces and low-level apartment blocks in low-density areas.
 
The Government has emphasised this “missing middle’’ approach between single detached houses and high-rises in its just-released Southeast Queensland Regional Plan.

​Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says: “Council will consult local communities on the future of their suburb to ensure that different types of dwellings are in tune with community expectations for that area.’’
Council has committed to using new green guidelines promoting designs compatible with the subtropical climate into its assessment of CBD building proposals and is now incorporating them into new neighbourhood plans.
 
The Brisbane River will be enhanced with five new hubs to enhance recreation and tourism, while extra bridges are on the cards, along with a major expansion of South Bank Parklands.
 
But council has ruled out a major element of the Future Brisbane action plan – incentives to encourage businesses to set up in hubs in middle-ring and outer suburbs to relieve congestion caused by people travelling into the city centre to work.

​While council supports the development of economic hubs outside the CBD, Quirk says incentives are not necessary.
 
“The Brisbane Metro will significantly reduce travel times and support the development and attractiveness of suburban precincts,’’ he says. “Council-related costs for setting up suburban businesses are already significantly cheaper than the CBD.”
 
State Government projections forecast that the proportion of people who commute into the Brisbane Council area from other parts of the region to work will rise from 31 per cent to 42 per cent by 2041.
 
Debbie Smith, managing partner for professional services firm PwC, says: “(We need to) think about how we decentralise economic activity away from the CBD and generate more opportunities for people to live closer to their places of work. This will reduce congestion and help boost lifestyles.”
 
Top demographer Bernard Salt, who conducted exclusive research for the Future Brisbane series, highlights the need to create employment opportunities close to fast-growing residential areas away from the inner city if Brisbane is to avoid the crippling gridlock that’s afflicting other cities.
 
He insists that direct intervention is necessary, saying: “The Government can lead this process by locating any new departments, divisions or authorities somewhere like Chermside or Mount Gravatt or Springfield, and that in turn draws businesses.”