Property prices are tipped to hit a $A1 million median as the city attracts a skilled workforce from other states
3 min
Australia has a new urban destination for those seeking a high quality of life — and it’s not Melbourne or Sydney.
A new report released by Deloitte Access Economics has revealed Brisbane as the best ‘city swap’ location to live and work. It follows on from the east coast capital being named as one of the 50 best places in the world by Time Magazine, the only Australian capital to make the list.
The State of the Cities Report by Deloitte Access Economics reported the city offers significant advantages to businesses and workers alike, with a $25 billion infrastructure pipeline in play to support the city’s rapid population growth as well as a track record of processing development applications 38 percent faster than other cities. Commercial rents are also appealing compared with the southern cities, averaging $450sqm less than similar centres in Australia and internationally.
For workers, commute times are minimised with less congestion on the roads and trains more likely to run on time compared with other Australian cities.
The report also found that Brisbane’s economy is set to grow by 68 percent to $275 billion in the 20 years to 2041.
Clearly, it is not news to those seeking to enter the Brisbane market, with CoreLogic data released this week showing the Queensland capital is now the second most expensive residential real estate market in the country, second only to Sydney. Prices rose by 1.4 percent during May, bringing the median property price to $843,231. Only Adelaide experienced a higher growth rate in home prices in May at 1.8 percent.
Those price increases look set to continue as Brisbane experiences the fastest growing working age population among Australia’s major centres, growing 7.7 percent compared to an average of 4 percent across major cities. The Domain House Price Report released earlier this year predicted the median house price Queensland capital would hit $1 million in the next 12 months.
While demand for housing in the city is strong, it would appear the workforce is there to support it.
Lead Partner at Deloitte Access Economics, Pradeep Philip, said Brisbane offered significant growth opportunities for businesses, innovators, and investors.
“Brisbane is the definition of a growth stock, with clear opportunities for innovators, investors and businesses across Australia and internationally in the years to come,” Mr Philip said.
“This is evident in Brisbane’s talent market, where it has the fastest growing working age population among Australia’s major centres, with 7.7 percent growth against an average of 4 percent across major cities.
“This, combined with Australia’s highest ranked university, a 32 percent increase in university graduates in the past five years, and the highest state-wide rates of technical and trades education attainment in the country, positions Brisbane with a highly competitive, skilled, and growing workforce.
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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.
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.”
