The weighted average capital city median price is well up for houses and other dwellings.
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Australian house prices are rising at the highest quarterly rate in 10 years, according to the latest Real Estate Market Facts report from the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).
According to REIA President, Adrian Kelly, the weighted average capital city median price increased by 6.8% for houses and by 2.7% for other dwellings.
“Over the March quarter, the weighted average median house price for the eight capital cities rose to $873,911 with all cities increasing except Canberra. At $1,309,195, Sydney’s median house price continues to be the highest amongst the capital cities, 49.8% higher than the national average. At $500,000, Perth has the lowest median house price across Australian capital cities, 42.8% lower than the national average.
“Over the 12 months to the March quarter, the weighted average capital city median house price increased by 11.1%.
“The weighted average median price for other dwellings for the eight capital cities increased to $621,313, a quarterly increase of 2.7%,” said Mr Kelly.
Mr Kelly also added that median prices for other dwellings increased in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Hobart and Darwin, remained steady in Brisbane and Canberra but decreased in Adelaide.
The median rent for 3-bedroom houses increased in all capital cities over the March quarter to a median of $452.50 per week.
“Over the past 12 months, the median rent increased in all capital cities except Melbourne where it remained steady. Darwin had the highest annual growth at 17.3% and now has the second highest rent at $538.50 a week with Canberra the highest at $570 per week.
According to the report, the national capital city vacancy rate is at 3.3% primarily up due to Melbourne’s rate of 6.1%.
Mr Kelly concluded the growth coincides with the April 2021 Lending to Households and Business figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics which show that the value of new loan commitments for housing rose for the second consecutive month after a brief fall in February which came after eight consecutive months of growth.
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The imposing stone structures, with towers, turrets and a hot tub room, lord over the landscape near the mountain resort town of Sandpoint.
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Idaho is not a place that’s often associated with Medieval castles, but a pair have just hit the market for $6.25 million.
The imposing stone structures have towers, turrets, ramparts, arrow-slit windows and even a drawbridge, and might just be the most authentic-looking castles this side of the Atlantic.
“Who expects to see a castle like this in Idaho?” said listing agent Brenda Burk of Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty, who brought the property to the market last week. They are, she said, “extremely unusual.”
Schweitzer Castle and Château de Melusine, as they’re known, stand within Schweitzer Mountain Resort in the Selkirk Mountains and overlook the nearby mountain resort town of Sandpoint. They take in panoramic views of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest lake.
The pair of ski-in/ski-out homes each have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and three stories, Burk explained. They are “so authentic,” she said. “Every single stone was handlaid.”
Schweitzer Castle, she said, wasn’t built for “functionality,” but has been modernized and adapted and now has everything a 21st-century residence requires, along with a dungeon, which for some buyers may also be a requisite.
The chateau, meanwhile, has a hot tub room with mountain views, as well as a garage.
The property is being sold furnished, and will come complete with the hand-carved statues, armor, mounted swords, stained-glass windows and a host of antiques dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.
The owner, an antique collector who couldn’t be reached for comment, “is always looking for that hidden jewel and he found that here,” Burk said.
The next custodian is likely to stem from a varied pool of buyers, Burk said, that would include “the trophy-home buyer, someone who can say ‘I own a castle.’”
The property could also appeal to someone looking for a vacation home, or a multi-generational estate, and beyond that “there’s the dreamers,” she said. “We definitely try to market to people who like Medieval history or maybe do Renaissance fairs.”
The seller “really wants it to go to someone with the same passion.”
