SURGE IN NATIONAL HOUSING AND RENTAL PRICES

The weighted average capital city median price of houses and other dwellings officially increased for the December quarter 2020.

Figures from the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) report ‘Real Estate Market Facts’ indicate a 6% rise for houses and 0.9% rise for other dwellings during for the period.

“The weighted average median house price for the eight capital cities increased to $825,205,” said Adrian Kely, REIA President. “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. Over the 12 months to the December quarter, the weighted average capital city median house price increased by 6.6%.

The weighted average median price for other dwellings for the eight capital cities increased to $601,345, a quarterly increase of 0.9%. The only city to not see a rise was Adelaide.

The REIA figures also outed a rise in median rent for 2-bedroom houses in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Darwin.

Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, meanwhile, remained steady.

“Other dwelling rents during the quarter, the median rent for 2-bedroom other dwellings increased in Perth, Canberra and Darwin, remained steady in Brisbane and Hobart but decreased in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide,” added Kelly. “Darwin had the largest increase over the quarter [6.6%].”

For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.

The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.

So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.

Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the house has matching mahogany paneling and limestone both inside and out. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The dining room is between an outdoor garden and the staircase. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.

Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.

The kitchen and family room open to the garden and pool. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Cast alcoves and mahogany shelves house the couple’s books and ceramics. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.

A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”

Ehrlich said it took a few tries to get the concrete wall right. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

‘It’s a really hard material to tame,’ Ehrlich said of concrete. Workers learned as they went, and Waldfogel and Helyn grew to appreciate the imperfect material. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

A central staircase is housed in a glass tower. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.

Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Two wings of the house are connected by horizontal planes. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.

Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.

SURGE IN NATIONAL HOUSING AND RENTAL PRICES

New report presents strong median price rises for most cities.

A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.