End Of Rental Moratorium Necessary For WA
Sunday marks the first time property investors can increase rent prices in 12 months.
By Terry Christodoulou
Tue, Mar 23, 2021 12:03pm
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The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) has said in a press release the end of the rental moratorium is a necessary step for the WA rental market.
With the emergency period for the Residential Tenancies (COVID-19 Response) Act 2020 ending on Sunday 28 March 2021, the REIWA believes it is a necessary step to help mend Western Australia’s rental shortage.
REIWA president Damian Collins said the September 2020 decision to extend the moratorium on evictions had a debilitating effect on the state’s rental market.
“Since the announcement in September, the Perth vacancy rate has dropped below one per cent – the lowest level we’ve seen in 40 years. There is very little available rental stock on the market and those people who are actively looking for somewhere to rent are finding it very difficult to secure a place to live,” REIWA President Damian Collins said.
“Thankfully, once the moratorium ends investors will have more incentive to buy property in WA. This should increase the number of properties available to rent and help create a more balanced market.”
Data from reiwa.com shows the Perth median weekly rent price has increased from $360 in February 2020 to $400 in February 2021.
Sunday marks the first time property investors will be able to increase rent prices in 12 months.
“Whilst it is inevitable prices will rise, WA tenants are still paying a lot less overall than their counterparts around the country. In fact, earlier this month the Real Estate Institute of Australia released their December 2020 quarter Housing Affordability Report which revealed WA remained the most affordable place to rent in the country,” Mr Collins added.
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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.”
