National Housing Affordability Declines

Both housing and rental affordability has declined, the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s Housing Affordability Report has found.

Although housing affordability improved in New South Wales and South Australia and remained steady in Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, it declined in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

REIA President Adrian Kelly stated that housing affordability across Australia has declined, with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments increasing to 34.7%, a rise of 0.1 percentage points over the quarter.

However, when compared to the same quarter of 2020 – housing affordability improved by 0.5 percentage points.

Meanwhile, rental affordability declined with the proportion of income required to meet median rents increasing to 24.4%, an increase of 0.4% over the March quarter and an increase of 0.7% over the past 12 months.

Mr Kelly added that the number of first home buyers had decreased by 4.4% over the quarter, but a rise of 62.6% over the last 12 months. Now, first home buyers make up 40.% of owner-occupier dwelling commitments.

“Over the March quarter, the average loan size grew to $506,340, an increase of 1.0% over the quarter and a rise of 2.6% over the past 12 months. During the quarter, the average loan size increased in all states and territories except New South Wales and South Australia. Over the past 12 months, the average loan size rose in all states and territories, ranging from 2.3% in Victoria to 10.8% in Tasmania,” Mr Kelly said.

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.”

National Housing Affordability Declines

However, New South Wales and South Australia saw improvements in affordability in the quarter.

The imposing stone structures, with towers, turrets and a hot tub room, lord over the landscape near the mountain resort town of Sandpoint.