Australia’s Interest Rates Kept On Hold
Rates stay at historic low 0.1 per cent.
By Terry Christodoulou
Tue, Mar 2, 2021 4:22am
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Today, the RBA has passed down its decision to keep Australia’s interest rates on hold at the historic low of 0.1 per cent.
The decision comes despite growth in the Australian property market and the global economic outlook appearing more favourable.
The statement highlighted the importance of low rates to support the rebuilding of the economy and support the supply of credit to both households and business balance sheets.
“Lending rates for most borrowers are at record lows and housing prices across Australia have increased recently,” said Governor of Monetary Policy Decision Philip Lowe.
“Housing credit growth to owner-occupiers has picked up, but investor and business credit growth remain weak. Lending standards remain sound and it is important that they remain so in an environment of rising housing prices and low-interest rates.”‘
The decision has also taken into account the global economic outlook in the wake of COVID-19 and the successful rollout of vaccines.
“The outlook for the global economy has improved over recent months due to the ongoing rollout of vaccines. While the path ahead is likely to remain bumpy and uneven, there are better prospects for a sustained recovery than there were a few months ago,” added Dr Lowe.
Closer to home, economic recovery is well underway with unemployment declining to 6.4 per cent alongside strong retail spending and most households and businesses that had deferred loan repayments having now recommenced payments.
The recovery is expected to continue with the GDP expected to return to its end-2019 level by the middle of this year
The Reserve Bank remains committed to the 3-year yield target and has doubled the bond-buying program last month by extending it for a further 20 weeks.
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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.”
