SURGE IN NATIONAL HOUSING AND RENTAL PRICES
New report presents strong median price rises for most cities.
By Terry Christodoulou
Fri, Mar 12, 2021 4:12am
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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%].”
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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.”
