Australian Housing Prices Up 500% Over 25 Years
However, yields have fallen to all-time lows.
By Terry Christodoulou
Thu, Apr 1, 2021 1:48pm
2 min
2 min
Proving itself as a reliable investment, research from the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) shows the price of Australian housing is up 500% over 25-years.
According to data from REIA, the median price for Australian housing inflated from $160,000 in 1996 to $825,000 in 2020.
Other dwellings, such as units and apartments have seen capital values increase by just over 400% in comparison however these assets produce higher yields.
The data shows that over the past five years, housing grew by 25%, from a median of $683,000 to $825,000 while other dwellings rose by 10% to $600,000.
Mr Kelly said that over the 25-year period, Australian housing yields tightened from 5.1% to 2.9% while other dwellings have recorded a drop in yields but not as dramatic, falling from 5.2.% to 3.7%.
“Houses in Darwin have the highest return averaging 4.2%. In 1996, housing investments in Darwin were yielding 6.4%.
“Melbourne and Sydney have always had the lowest yields both falling from around 4% in 1996 to just 1.8% in 2020.
“The pandemic saw Melbourne and Sydney experience rising vacancies with Melbourne now the highest in Australia at 5% while Sydney is currently at 3.7%,” said Mr Kelly.
Further, Mr Kelly said that there has been a decline in investors in the market in recent times particularly as concerns have emerged with moratoriums on evictions and rising vacancies.
“Despite rising vacancies and the low yields, we are starting to see investors reemerge as they respond to a rising market with further growth expectations and low borrowing costs,” Mr Kelly added.
REIA’s latest report, Real Estate Market Facts found that in the December quarter 2020, the weighted average capital city median price for both houses and other dwellings increased in the Australian residential property market.
“The weighted average capital city median price increased by 6.0% for houses and by 0.9% for other dwellings. The weighted average median house price for the eight capital cities increased to $825,205. Over the quarter, the median house price increased in all capital cities.
“At $1,211,488, Sydney’s median house price continues to be the highest amongst the capital cities, 46.8% higher than the national average. At $490,000 Perth has the lowest median house price across Australian capital cities, 40.6% lower than the national average.”
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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.
By Liz Lucking
Mon, Jul 13, 2026 2 min
2 min
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.”
